


Hey Mister, She's My Sister (Sorority AU)

by Sappho82



Series: Jealous Mei [4]
Category: citrus - サブロウタ | citrus - Saburouta
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Asian American, College Life, Drinking, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Fraternities & Sororities, Friends With Benefits, Greek Life, HaruMatsu, Jealous Mei, Lesbian Sex, Smut, oh my god they were roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2019-11-01 03:45:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17859632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sappho82/pseuds/Sappho82
Summary: Yuzu is a sorority girl from California who is now transferring to a new university in the Midwest. She’s living in a sorority house with her sisters in Chi Theta Sigma, and it’s really great. The only wrinkle in Yuzu’s awesome college life is the fact that the sorority president Mei Aihara, who is also her roommate, hates her.Sorority AUAmerican College AU





	1. love affair!?

Yuzu was breathing heavily by the time she hauled her giant suitcase up the flight of stairs to the third floor of her new sorority house.

Well, the sorority _house_ was new to her, but not the sorority.

Yuzu had already become a fully-fledged member of Chi Theta Sigma during her time at UCLA. When she found out that there was a chapter of her sorority in the university she was transferring to, it instantly made leaving California for this Midwestern state a little bit more appealing.

So she contacted the sorority chapter in the school she was transferring to, and was overjoyed when they told her that they would take her. Not all sororities would do that – accept transfers from other chapters without having to go through the pledging process like any other initiate. And so Yuzu happily paid the first month’s membership dues and housing deposit, and she was on her way to start her new life as a new student in her new university but living with the sisters of her beloved sorority!

Reaching the end of the hallway, Yuzu stopped in front of Room 7. Twisting the knob, she pushed the door open to her new bedroom.

Mei Aihara, the sorority president, was standing in front of a dresser placing clothes into the top drawer. Yuzu instantly recognized the young woman from her photo in the sorority’s website.

“Uh, you're not Madison,” fell out of Yuzu’s mouth before she could stop the words.

Mei turned her head and looked Yuzu up and down for a long moment before she replied with a curt, “Obviously.”

She returned to putting away her clothes and didn't say anything more.

Yuzu worried her lip, her thoughts churning. _What the hell?_ She and Madison were assigned to be roommates a few weeks ago, and they had texted a bit on Facebook messenger. The sophomore seemed like a really nice girl and had been eager to show Yuzu around the school. Why was the sorority president here in her room? And why was she kinda…cold?

“Am I supposed to be in a different room?” Yuzu asked, hating the way that her voice came out so timidly.

Yuzu saw Mei’s chest rise and fall, like she hated what she was about to say next.

“No, this is your room,” Mei said, with an edge in her tone that sent a chill down Yuzu’s spine.

Her beautiful face pinching into an expression of distaste, she continued, “Madison decided at the last minute that she was going to live with her boyfriend. And Emily, who’s been my roommate for the last two years, is doing a semester abroad in Spain. Kayla and Blaire really wanted to be in the same room, so they got my old room. So…the two of us are going to be roommates.”

“Oh.” Apprehension tickled Yuzu’s stomach. She may not be a genius, but she could tell that Mei didn't like her. Recovering quickly, she chirped, “Cool!”

With more cheerfulness than was probably necessary, she barreled on, “I’m sure we’ll get along great. I’m an awesome roommate! Just ask Chloe. Chloe, she was my roommate back in UCLA. We were in the same pledge class, and we really bonded during initiation, and then we became roomies and we did everything together! We designed the shirt for our pledge class and it turned out _awesome_ , and gosh I’ll really miss her. She was the best sister in the whole sorority to me, but I know you and I will be just as good as friends…!”

The look on Mei’s face cut off Yuzu’s rambling. Mei was looking at her like she was something vile on the bottom of her shoe. Yuzu swallowed.

“Yuzu, right?” Mei asked airily, but it sounded like she was saying _a complete and utter idiot_. “The transfer from the UCLA chapter. You were on the cheer squad for the last two years. Majoring in Earth and Environmental Science with a Japanese minor.”

“Yeah! And you’re Mei Aihara. I’ve seen your photos on the website, and the Facebook group, and Madison has told me all about you. Nice to meet you, Mei!”

Yuzu bounced over to where Mei was standing, feeling compelled to initiate some kind of contact with the woman that was going to be her roommate for at least one whole academic year. And more importantly, the president of her new sorority chapter. This was her new _sister._

She moved in like she was coming in for a hug, but Mei’s death glare made it clear that she shouldn't unless she wanted her arms burned off. She tried to transition into a handshake instead, but the furrow in Mei’s brow also made it clear that that gesture was also unwelcome, so the flustered blonde was left awkwardly dangling her arms at her side.

Yuzu felt like she was two feet tall. What was Mei’s problem? Was she this bitchy to all the girls in the sorority or just to her? Was she actually against members transferring from other chapters?

And now that Yuzu was standing closer to Mei, she could more acutely feel Mei’s glare. The sorority president raked her eyes down Yuzu’s front, unashamedly staring at the exposed cleavage from her low-cut crop top, then to her short shorts, to her strappy wedge sandals. Her disapproving gaze burned into Yuzu with the intensity of a brand new tanning bed.

Yuzu knew for a fact that she looked hot as fuck right now. She had turned many a head at the airport. Her long blond hair was curled in soft waves. The 3.5-inch heels made her legs look fabulous, and her make up was on point. So why was Mei Aihara looking at her like she was vomit in the living room carpet after a party?

One thing was for sure. Mei Aihara did not approve of her. 

* * *

“Loathing” was probably too strong a word to describe how Mei felt about her new roommate. About her new _sister_. But honestly? It was close. Definitely in the same general vicinity.

It was bad enough that Emily was gone and she had to room with someone else. Emily, now _she_ was the perfect roommate. She was also the perfect Chi, in Mei’s opinion. A girl after her own heart. Emily had a 4.0 average, like her. Emily spent most of her nights studying and rarely partied. She was on the shy side, but she was responsible and a hard worker.

The moment Yuzu walked into the room, Mei knew that she was the complete opposite of Emily.

She didn't want to judge a book by its cover. But this cover…was currently very revealing. One, Emily didn't own a single shirt that was as tight and form-fitting as the one Yuzu had on. The blonde wore a hunter green sleeveless crop top that had a split in the middle of the already low neckline. Mei found it hard to tear her eyes away from the rise of her cleavage that was peeking out over her top. It was _scandalous_ at how much skin this girl was showing.

Two, those denim shorts. When her Yuzu turned around and walked to her suitcase, Mei could clearly see those shorts hugging the curve of her ass. The girl had a perfect bubble butt. And these shorts look painted on. In contrast, Emily wore a lot of plaid pencil skirts with dark tights underneath.

Three, that gorgeous blond hair. Cascading down her back like a goddamn gold waterfall and framing her face like a Hollywood starlet about to do a photoshoot for the cover of Vanity Fair. Most days Emily simply twisted her shoulder length hair into a messy bun on top of her head, and it took about a minute and half to do. God only knows how many hours it took for Yuzu to get her hair to look like a Pantene commercial.

Frowning at the open drawer of her dresser, Mei had a sinking feeling that she and this Yuzu were going to clash. Just by the looks of her, this young woman clearly had a different lifestyle and different priorities than her. Mei was in college to get a business degree so she would be well-prepared to inherit her family’s company. She was in this sorority for the connections and the doors that would be open to her once she graduated.

Mei intended to graduate summa cum laude with an impressive extracurricular record for leadership, organization, and community service. And of course, for being the president of a top sorority.

What she didn't need, or want, was a blonde California Barbie for a roommate who probably only cared about fashion and boys and getting wasted at parties.

_Ugh._ Mei gritted her teeth, shooting another dirty look at the blonde who was starting to unpack her suitcase. She made up her mind. She wasn't going to let her new _sister_ ruin her college aspirations. Mei would just have to show Yuzu who was boss (her, naturally) in their room, _and_ in this house. That would keep her in line. 

* * *

"Harumi, Mei absolutely hates me.”

Yuzu sounded so pitiful and full of frustration that Harumi had to bite back a laugh. It was kind of true though. It was pretty clear that Mei wasn't being very… sisterly to Yuzu. Mei wasn't really the warm, touchy-feely type, but still, she was usually pleasant and agreeable enough. But Harumi had seen their interactions with her own eyes, and Mei _was_ pretty cold towards the blonde.

Harumi bumped her shoulder against her new sister as they straightened out the flyers and decorations on their table at the Pan-Hellenic information fair.  “Don’t sweat it too much, Yuzu. Mei can be…a little standoffish at first, but I think she’ll warm up to you eventually. You just have to be yourself, and what you are, is pretty awesome.”

Unlike the president, Harumi liked the new transfer right away, becoming fast friends after they met at the sorority house. 

“Thanks, babe.” Yuzu turned her head towards Harumi and gave her friend a small, sad smile. “I’m glad someone thinks so. Because rooming with Mei makes me feel like I’m always doing something wrong, you know? It’s like anytime I’m in the room she’s either completely ignoring me or glaring at me.”

Yuzu sighed deeply, loud enough to make Mei, who was talking to some freshmen a few feet away, turn around and look over to them. The president gave them a curious glance, which morphed into a much sharper look, when her eyes landed on Harumi. She could have sworn that Mei narrowed her eyes when she looked at her.

“Why she gotta be such a bitch to me?” Yuzu hissed in a low voice as she plopped down on the folding chair behind their sorority’s table. “Isn't she like, required to be nice to every sister because she’s the president? Is this some sort of backdoor initiation because I transferred from another chapter? Am I being hazed??”

Harumi’s eyes widened. “Oh my god girl, no,” she whispered fiercely. “Maybe she’s just really stressed or something? She’s in her senior year, she maintains a 4.0 GPA, she’s in the Honors College, she’s on the Pan-hellenic council… girl has a lot on her plate. Just cut her some slack, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Yuzu grumbled. “I’ll keep trying to kill her with kindness for now.”

* * *

Mei whipped around in her swivel chair to face Yuzu who was lying in bed.

“Yuzu,” she snapped. “Put on some earphones if you’re going to be listening to your music. I’m studying here. And I really don’t want to hear Ariana Grande on repeat. I don’t even understand how you can call that _music_. Seriously, that stuff rots your brain.”

Yuzu rolled her eyes before turning her head to look at her roommate. She was tired of being nice. She had tried to be super nice to Mei for weeks. But the woman was intent in disliking her, it seemed. It was getting on her nerves, honestly. And now she had to throw shade at Ari. The nerve.

“Well sorry if my taste in pop princess offends you, Mei. What kind of music should I listen to so that it’ll make me smarter? What will turn me into a genius like you?”

Mei responded with a huff of annoyance, refusing to be baited. Before she swiveled back to face her desk, her eyes raked over Yuzu’s body during the few seconds that the blonde turned her head away to reach for her headphones on the bedside table. The blonde was lying on her back in her usual sleep attire— a cream-colored satin camisole with matching pajama shorts. The furtive sweep of Mei’s gaze got snagged on Yuzu’s nipples poking through her cami.

Seeing the hard peaks on top of her the blonde’s generous chest made her teeth ache. She clenched her jaw and went back to studying for her accounting exam. 

* * *

“So I had this really weird dream about Mei.”

“Oh?” Harumi didn't slow her peddling on the stationary bike or tear her eyes away from her Instagram. “What happened in your dream?”

Yuzu giggled. “I dreamt that we got married. And we even wore _identical_ wedding dresses.”

“What? You mean wore the same exact dress?”

“Yup.”

Chuckling, Harumi turned to look at Yuzu who was on the stationary bike beside her. Yuzu was covered in sweat, having cranked the resistance to high. Amusement twinkled in her eyes and she was grinning from ear to ear.

“Was I there? In your wedding?”

“Of course. You were my maid of honor.”

“Sweet,” Harumi said, absolutely tickled by the idea of Yuzu and Mei getting married. The likelihood of them ending up together was so improbable that even talking about it out loud was comical.

“So is this dream trying to tell you that you and Mei want to kill each other is because you’re secretly in love with each other and you just want to bang?”

Yuzu tilted her head back and laughed, but still not slowing her punishing pace on the bike. Her quad muscles strained at the effort.

“I mean,” she replied, a lopsided grin pulling on one side of her mouth. “Mei Aihara is like the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid eyes on. And she is _so_ my type.”

* * *

It was downright annoying, how Yuzu was actually _great_ at being a sorority girl.

Mei tried not to frown as she grudgingly accepted this fact while she watched her roommate tutor an elementary school kid with a shock of bright auburn hair. The boy was enthusiastically nodding while tracking Yuzu’s finger running across the worksheets they were working on. When they completed the page, Yuzu gave a quiet little cheer (they were in the library after all) and the two high-fived. The way the boy beamed at the blonde spoke volumes about how he felt about his tutor.

Watching the pair from across the tables set aside for the after-school program at the city library, Mei was amazed at how easily the blonde was interacting with the elementary school boy. Their sorority had been volunteering at the library for a couple of years now, and this particular kid was considered a difficult case ever since he started coming to the tutoring program. He was incredibly hyper and fought with his tutors about finishing his homework, and Natasha, who was the Community Service Chair, had to rotate all the sisters to be his tutor because no one could stand to work with him on a permanent basis.

But here Yuzu was, getting the kid to do his homework with no fuss and even managed to look like they were having fun.

Yuzu may look like the stereotypical sorority girl—too gorgeous and put together for a Tuesday afternoon in a musty city library— but it was clear that she was good with kids. Good at teaching kids. She was patient, kind, and knew how to make things _fun._

The hour and a half was over and everyone at the tables began to gather up their things. Before he left, the boy gave Yuzu another 100-megawatt smile and even looked like he wanted to give her a hug.

Mei would never admit it even under oath, but she found herself with the same urge sometimes.

* * *

 Harumi rubbed her hands to generate some heat as she waited at the stand selling hot beverages.

It was a particularly cold autumn night for the annual Glass Lake Jump. Each year, on the eve of the football match against their biggest rival team, dozens of students jump into the frigid waters of Glass Lake amidst hundreds of spectators cheering them on.

_Lake_ was a misnomer, because it was really just a large manmade pond near the main library. This activity was technically illegal, but it was one of the biggest student traditions in their school, going on for more than fifty years, since the beginning of their football rivalry.

The sisters of Chi Theta Sigma were expressly prohibited by their president from actively participating in the tradition, but they were all here to watch and cheer the brave and foolhardy souls who were jumping into Glass Lake.

Clutching two paper cups of hot apple cider in her hands, Harumi pushed through a throng of people before she was able to reach her sisters gathered near a lamp post. Her eyes swept the group for Yuzu, wanting to give her the hot drink which was burning her hand.

Harumi spotted Yuzu, then noticed the guy beside her. He was hard to miss with his height and broad shoulders. He was grinning broadly at Yuzu, deep dimples puncturing his chubby cheeks. He looked like a huge, cuddly teddy bear. What an adorable cutie.

* * *

 A sour ball of utter disdain curdled in Mei’s stomach as she regarded the fuckboy talking to Yuzu.

That backwards baseball cap and letter jacket made him look like every dudebro in this damn school. The way he puffed his chest out to bring attention to his pecs disgusted Mei.

But seeing Yuzu stare at the fuckboy's form made Mei’s chest burn.

God, she hated these things. She just wanted this stupid event to be over so she could go back to the house and study. She had better things to do with her night than watch these two _idiots_ flirt with each other.

Just, _ugh._

* * *

“So is this your first semester here? I’ve never seen you around campus before,” the tall cutie asked Yuzu. He continued with a genuine smile and a shy tilt of his head, “And I’m pretty sure I would have noticed someone like you.”

Harumi, who was standing in front of the two, saw Mei Aihara’s mouth twist and eyes roll at the pretty boy’s line.

_Interesting._

Shifting her weight on one leg, Harumi casually turned her body so that Mei was fully in her line of sight. She had an uncanny sense about these things, and she wanted to see if one of the weird things that she’s been noticing lately would happen again.

“Yeah, this is my first semester. I transferred from UCLA,” Yuzu replied, an easy smile sliding up her face and reaching her eyes.

Harumi’s eyes snapped from Yuzu and the dude to Mei and back again to Yuzu. Mei was standing a little off to the side of the couple, watching the undergrads jump into Glass Lake, but it was clear that she was listening to their conversation. Her face looked like it was carved from stone, but a vein was throbbing on her forehead.

“Oh sweet. What part of California are you from?”

“Orange County.”

He stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked slightly back and forth on his feet, like he was a huge tree swaying in the wind, pulled by some gravitational force towards Yuzu.

“That’s pretty different from these parts, huh? You ever feel homesick?” He dropped his voice a whole octave lower to say, “Lonely?”

And what happened next was what Harumi had been watching out for. A move that Harumi called Yuzu’s _Flip and Smolder._

“Well,” Yuzu drew out the syllable in a purr, at the same time tilting her head back to expose the pale column of her throat. Almost as if the sound was her cue, Mei’s eyes snapped towards Yuzu, greedily taking in the exposed lines of the blonde’s neck.

Harumi observed Yuzu transition smoothly into the next move: slip her right hand to the back of her head, then flip her hair to the front, her fingers slowly dragging through golden strands before she let them fall like a silk curtain, draped over her shoulder. Mei’s eyes tracked the movement like a starving lion watches a gazelle prance around in front of it.  

“I guess it can be a little lonely sometimes, being in a new school.” Yuzu tilted her head down and lowered her dark eyelashes, the light from the lamppost making the expertly applied purple eyeshadow shimmer. Yuzu _really_ knew her angles.

Harumi watched in muted fascination as Yuzu delivered the _coup de grace_. With the tips of her fingers, she brushed some strands away from her forehead. Peering up through her lashes she said, “But I’m hoping that some people will warm up to me.”

Tall Dude looked like he was going to pop a boner right there and then, but what he didn't catch was Yuzu locking her gaze with Mei in a super intense stare that they held for several long seconds.

Harumi bit her lip to prevent it from curling into a snicker as she watched Mei Aihara look more flustered than she had ever seen her. The sorority president looked like she was going to overheat.

Harumi filed away another instance of the _Flip and Smolder._ All the other times she saw Yuzu execute the move was when Mei Aihara was standing beside her.

_This was going to be a very interesting year._

* * *

 

  _The title of this fic is a line from the song "[La Vie Boheme](https://youtu.be/xIOV74lFW78)" from the Broadway musical RENT. (I stan Idina Menzel so effin hard) _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back on my bullshit with another Citrus AU. I’ve had this idea in my mind for a long time, and I finally had to write it to get it out of my head. I love the premise of Yuzu and Mei being in a sorority because it checks off some of my favorite fanfic tropes for Citrus:
> 
> 1.Oh my god, they were roommates  
> 2\. Pseudo sisters  
> 3\. Enemies to lovers  
> 4\. possibility for Jealous Mei
> 
> And honestly, I really wanted to write Yuzu and Mei as adults, and I was getting kinda exhausted writing about a Japanese high school. I have never attended high school in Japan or even lived there. I have, however, attended/worked at three different universities in the Big10. I don't name the university that this story is set in, but just imagine a large, top-tier public university in the American Midwest where football is king. Oh, and I totally made up the name of the sorority, basically I pulled the Greek letters for the abbreviation of Citrus – CTS: Chi Theta Sigma.
> 
>  
> 
> Drop me a comment/review if you have any feedback!


	2. one's first love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like lots of things in college, it happens at a house party.

Mei Aihara didn't particularly hate house parties, but she didn't really like them either. When she was at one, it was mostly whatever. Like many decisions in her life, she thought of attending parties as a social transaction, weighing the opportunity cost of each party before making a decision of attending or not. If she went to a particular party, it would simply mean less time doing something productive like studying or reviewing the sorority's budget. But she also knew that as a sorority president, she was obliged to show her face at a couple of parties each semester.

Picking at the label of her Dirty Bastard, she wondered why she agreed to come to this party at all. It wasn't one of the "important" parties that she felt she had to make an appearance at. And she totally had a ton more to do for her case study report due on Monday.

She peeled a corner of the label from her beer bottle, but before it could even be lifted halfway, the metallic paper tore off. Crumpling the tiny wad of paper in her hand, she crushed the nagging feeling that she knew  _why_ she was here in this party.

At least it wasn't a frat party. It was a house party thrown by Madison, the sister who decided she wasn't going to live at their sorority house anymore a couple of weeks before fall semester started.

She certainly was  _not_ here because Yuzu spent two hours picking out her outfit, doing her hair, and putting on her make up.

It wasn't like she felt a pang deep in her chest when she imagined herself alone in their room working on her report while Yuzu went to her first party since transferring here. That would be ridiculous. She didn't care if her roommate was out partying and getting drunk and meeting new people or whatever.

No, she was here because this was a party thrown by one of her sorority sisters, and it would have looked bad if she didn't come visit at her new house.

"Yeah! Booya, bitches!" a female voice yelled over the din of the party. Mei heard Yuzu's loud groan in response.

Mei turned her head towards the sound. There was a crush of bodies that obscured her vision of the beer pong table, but it looked like Yuzu and Harumi had lost their game.

She had been sitting in this gross couch for the last 25 minutes. Mei stood up and walked towards the beer pong table.

Standing on the opposite end of the beer pong table from Yuzu and Harumi were the apparent winners of the game, Ben and one of the female housemates. The ombre wash of her pink hair caught Mei's eye.

Mei noted that the aforementioned girl was very pretty, her pixie features complementing her shoulder-length platinum blond hair that gradually turned into light pink from the mid-shaft down to the tips. Objectively, the girl was stunning, but Mei didn't like her dangerous prowl as she approached her two sorority sisters.

"All right ladies, time to pay up," drawled the pink-haired girl as she sauntered over to the other side of the table. "Like we agreed beforehand, I'm the one who'll collect on the bet."

Harumi placed a hand on the table and leaned on it. Rolling her eyes, she said, "Yes, Matsuri, we remember the terms."

Whoever this Matsuri was, she was trouble, Mei decided. She wondered what they had bet on. And why did Harumi and Yuzu agree to play against Ben and this Matsuri? They obviously looked like they spent every weekend playing beer pong. Mei felt her irritation spike.  _Just like Yuzu to get hustled._

"Good," Matsuri said with a pleased smile. "Okay," she pointed to Yuzu then Harumin. "So which one of you…?"

Yuzu and Harumin looked at each other. The slightest look of consternation flashed across Harumi's face, and Yuzu, being a good friend, decided to take the fall. She didn't mind. She was pretty tipsy at this point. She drank more of the cups from the game of beer pong than Harumi.

"I'll do it," Yuzu said, turning towards Matsuri. She stepped closer to Matsuri and looked down at her with a smirk. "Bring it, shorty."

"You're going to do what?" flew from Mei's mouth, before she could think twice.

All three girls turned to look at her, surprised at her sharp tone. They hadn't noticed her standing there.

"Body shot," Matsuri answered, sticking her hands in her back pockets. "Winner does a body shot on the losing team."

"That's dumb," Mei remarked, deadpan.

Matsuri knit her eyebrows and cocked her head. She regarded Mei for a long moment.

Shrugging, she said, "Dumb or not, they agreed to it. So, yeah." With that, she turned on her heels and walked towards the kitchen where the liquor was set up.

Mei gnashed her teeth.  _Dumb, dumb._   _So dumb. Why would anyone play beer bong to get to do a body shot?!_

She was about to ask her two sisters why they even agreed to this harebrained idea, when Matsuri came back with a bottle of tequila, a salt shaker, and a little bowl of lime slices.

"Okay, Yuzu, where you wanna do this?" Matsuri asked, holding up the Jose Cuervo by the neck and shaking it a little, making the amber liquid slosh around.

Yuzu thought for a moment, then pointed her thumb to the beer pong table behind her. "Here's fine."

Mei's chest started to constrict as she watched Harumi and Yuzu start to clear their side of the table of red solo cups. The muscles in her chest felt too tight, like it was too restrictive to breathe. A small crowd started to gather, interested in watching two girls drink tequila off of each other.

There were two dudebros who looked particularly enthusiastic about the little show they were about to witness. One guy started chanting  _shots, shots, shots, shots, shots,_  and the other guy pumped his fist in the air. Mei glared at them with so much venom that they visibly deflated. Chant guy got quieter and quieter until he stopped completely and Fist guy slowly lowered his hand. Satisfied that they both looked chagrined, Mei returned her attention to Yuzu. Oh, and Harumi.

Yuzu pressed the small of her back against the edge of table and hopped up to sit on it. Matsuri positioned herself so that her stomach was right in front of Yuzu's kneecaps, holding up the tequila in one hand and the salt and lime in the other.

Watching the shorter girl, Mei decided that Matsuri was a basic bitch. She was also vile. She probably prowled parties luring unsuspecting sorority girls into games of beer pong so she could do perverted things to them.  _What a horrible person._

Yuzu slowly opened her legs, and Matsuri came closer. When Yuzu shyly tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, Mei felt like a sharp fishhook got snagged in her heart and was trying to yank the organ out of her chest.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Yuzu squealed, laughing as Matsuri laid a hand on her shoulder to lay her back on top of the table.

A roaring had started in Mei's ears, and she found herself stifling the strong urge to reach out and snatch Matsuri's hand off of Yuzu _. Don't touch her. Don't you fucking touch her. Take. Your. Hands. Off. Of. Her._

Shaking her head and giggling, Yuzu insisted, "I don't want you to pour the tequila on my stomach. I don't want to get super sticky. Use a shot glass."

A few of the spectators made disappointed sounds at Yuzu's refusal to do the variation of the body shot where the shooter drinks up the tequila from the other person's navel, but Matsuri simply shrugged and yelled, "Someone get me a shot glass!"

A shot glass was procured from the kitchen by one of the enthusiastic dudebros, and Matsuri took it and poured the shot. She handed it to Yuzu, who took it with a coy smile.

A prickling heat crawled up Mei's veins as Yuzu carefully placed the shot glass between her boobs. The blonde was wearing a push-up bra, and so her breasts were sitting high and proud on her chest.

Mei's eyes were glued to Yuzu's rack, the shot glass of translucent amber liquid acting like some kind of hypnotic device, clearly. At that moment, the little glass nestled between the two creamy mounds looked like the single most appetizing thing in the world to Mei. Her mouth watered as she imagined her own lips touching the rim of the shot glass between Yuzu's boobs and draining the tequila down her throat.

Mei felt  _parched_. Like, she really, really needed a drink. She raised her bottle to her lips and took a long pull of her beer. It burned all the way down, but didn't sate her thirst or calm her nerves.

"Get it, Matsuri!"

Turning back to the scene of her own personal nightmare, she saw Yuzu still seated on the edge of the table, but leaning back a little, hands flat on the table at her sides. Her shirt was pulled up to the bottom of her breasts, and Matsuri was shaking a line of salt up the right side of Yuzu's stomach.

Matsuri plucked a slice of lime from the bowl and held it up against Yuzu's mouth, making intense eye contact with the blonde as she did this. Yuzu parted her lips and took the slice in her mouth.

Now Mei couldn't tear her eyes away from those soft red lips, the ones she watched as Yuzu expertly applied strawberry-flavored lip gloss on earlier. Her own lips tingled and burned at the sight of those lips wrapped around the rind of the green citrus fruit.

How does sucking on a lime feel like, exactly? How does it counteract the burn of the tequila? Does it nullify it, or make it hotter? Mei felt the strong urge to know. For research purposes, of course.

"Okay babe, here we go." Matsuri winked at Yuzu before lowering her head to the blonde's exposed stomach.

Mei's heart started to race as she watched Matsuri's tongue slowly lick salt off of Yuzu's skin, tracing the diagonal line of her obliques. By the time Matsuri finished licking the salt and straightened up, Mei's pulse was pounding painfully in her chest.

Mei tipped the bottle onto her lips and downed the rest of her beer. Her head started to buzz.

When she turned back, Matsuri had already taken the glass from Yuzu's boob shelf and was knocking back the shot in one smooth, practiced swallow.

_Fucking alcoholic._

When Matsuri leaned towards Yuzu's face, the peripherals of Mei's vision started to burn red.

Two pairs of lips connected for several long seconds as Matsuri drew the lime into her mouth. Mei felt like she was frozen in time forced to watch a horrifying train wreck. The kind where you desperately want to look away but can't tear your eyes away from the carnage.

Arctic blue eyes flicked up to meet hers for one terrible moment. Matsuri had her lips pressed up against Yuzu's mouth while giving her an icy glare.

Beside her, Harumi made a disgruntled sound.

Matsuri pulled back from Yuzu, the lime slice caught between her teeth. After removing it from her mouth, she licked her lips, while staring lasciviously at Yuzu.

Mei fantasized about murder.

* * *

When Matsuri caught her eye while she was sucking face with Yuzu, Harumin couldn't help but scoff in exasperation.

 _This girl._  Harumi shook her head as she watched the pink haired girl's smug expression after she completed the body shot.  _I suppose I'm to blame for half of this._

_I did sleep with her after all._

_But that was one time! Who would have known that she would be like, obsessed with me?_

They slept together after a party during the third weekend of the fall semester. Harumi remembered the date because it was after the first home football game of the season. That was like two months ago. It never happened again, but ever since then…it was clear that Matsuri wanted a round two with her. Or wanted  _something._

The pink-haired girl would show up at events where she was at, trying to get her attention in a myriad of ways.

One of those ways was currently underway. Flexing on other girls right in front of her, like it would inspire so much jealousy that she would be compelled to make out with her again.

Harumi felt a groan itching the back of her throat. Just her luck to attract a disaster lesbian like Matsuri Mizusawa.

Speaking of disaster lesbians, Harumi turned to look at Mei beside her. The sorority president looked like she wanted to dump gasoline all over the floor and set fire to everyone in this room.  _Geez._

She followed Mei's gaze, back towards Matsuri very obviously flirting with Yuzu on the beer pong table. It looked like the little troublemaker was trying to convince Yuzu to do a body shot on  _her._

Another glance at Mei told her that she needed to intervene.  _The things I do for my sisters. I really deserve the Sweetheart Award this year._

Harumi walked over to the two girls. Against Matsuri's ear, she said quietly, "Hey. Wanna get outta here?"

* * *

Yuzu was standing at the kitchen island pouring Grey Goose into a solo cup of lemonade when she felt a tug on a belt loop on her side. She first glanced down to her hips, saw two pale fingers curled around the belt loop, then looked up the body attached to the hand…and was face to face with Mei. She looked pretty faded.

But Yuzu also noticed that her eyes were dark, darker than she'd ever seen them. They burned with intent, something she couldn't place at the moment.

"Oh, hey Mei. Having fun?"

Mei didn't say anything, but simply tugged on her belt loop again.

"What?" Yuzu asked, confusion lilting her voice.

"I need to talk to you," the brunette answered, in that tone that Yuzu recognized as  _you're in trouble._ "Now."

Sighing loudly, Yuzu put down the bottle of vodka and followed Mei.  _What did I do now?_

Mei went down the hallway near the entrance of the house, opened a door, and stepped inside.

Frowning, Yuzu walked up to the open doorway and said, "Why are we going into the bathroom?"

She felt Mei's hands grab her around her biceps and pull her inside the room. The door slammed close. She was so surprised that she stepped back from the girl in reflex.

"Uh, Mei? Is something wrong?"

Her breath caught in her throat when her roommate closed the distance between them, and she found herself pressed between Mei and the bathroom counter. She felt like Mei was all around her, like she couldn't escape if she wanted to.  _Oh my god what is happening?_

Mei had a very interesting expression on her face. She looked hella mad, like she wanted to smack Yuzu across the face.

But she could now see, in Mei's face, dark desire had been carefully hidden behind that stoic façade. And for some reason, tonight, at this loud, grubby house party, something had  _cracked._

The raven-haired girl leaned in closer to her, and she could feel her breath ghost over her mouth. It sent a shudder rippling from Yuzu's core all the way to the base of her skull.

"Nothing's wrong," Mei said with a raise of an elegant eyebrow. "Although it looked like you're having all the fun"

Yuzu attempted to chuckle, but it came out too high and airy, making her sound way drunker than she actually was. "Oh you mean the body shot?"

"Yes, the body shot. Looked like it was tons of fun," Mei remarked.

Yuzu felt Mei's fingers touch her jaw. Then they moved to grip her chin firmly.

"Y-yeah…" Yuzu whispered. "It was cool." The way Mei was staring at her mouth prevented her from coming up with a more intelligent reply.

Mei's thumb dragged across her bottom lip. A jolt of pleasure ran through her, shooting straight to her core, where it pulsed into a distinct ache. The raven-haired girl brushed her lips with her thumb a few more times, and she realized that Mei was trying to wipe the citrus juice from her mouth. Like it displeased her. Like she was trying to erase an unpleasant image from her memory.

_Does Mei have something against body shots? Or tequila and lime?_

Yuzu didn't have time to ponder these questions because the next thing she knew Mei crashed their lips together.

She felt the world tip on its axis – and she wasn't entirely sure if it was because she had too much to drink or because Mei Aihara was  _kissing_ her.

Mei swept her tongue across her bottom lip, and Yuzu parted her lips with a small moan. Her hands flew to the front of Mei's shirt, fisting the fabric, pulling the girl closer.

Mei's tongue entered her mouth as if they had both been fantasizing about this moment for months. She felt Mei's hands slip under her shirt and grip around her ribcage, and the contact on her flushed skin tore another moan from her throat, the sound vibrating against Mei's mouth.

The sorority president was clearly intent in dominating their kiss. And Yuzu was perfectly happy with this arrangement, letting Mei angle her head to deepen their kiss. Pleasure licked around the corners of her brain as she tasted Mei's sweet mouth, reveling in the way her soft lips brushed against hers.

Then, almost as suddenly as the kiss began- it ended.

Yuzu gripped the bathroom counter to steady herself, her knees weak, as Mei stepped away from her. The girl now had an inscrutable expression on her face as she smoothed the front of her shirt.

"Well, which one was better – this kiss or that body shot?" Mei asked, as if she was asking what TV show Yuzu wanted to watch.

"This," Yuzu breathed, still floored. "Way better."

The door opened, and Mei was gone. After several minutes, Yuzu emerged from the bathroom, headed back to the kitchen, and found her solo cup where she left it on the center island. Adding another pour of vodka into the cup, she raised it to her lips and took a long draught.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the inspirations for this chapter is that infamous scene in the manga/anime where Mei sees Matsuri kiss Yuzu. I consider this the birth of Jealous Mei, and really the most tangible piece of evidence from canon that Mei can and does get jealous over Yuzu.
> 
> Although what she does next—kiss Matsuri to "take back the kiss" she stole from Yuzu—I always found hilarious and nonsensical. It just makes no sense to kiss the person who kissed the person you like. Because...that's not taking back anything, that's just kissing the person you hate! Which just leads me to believe that Mei just lost her shit at that moment.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for your comments/reviews as always! Please let me know your thoughts about this AU story if you have any!


	3. love my sisterxxx

It was around noon on a Sunday at the Chi Theta Sigma sorority house, and about half of the sisters in residence were in the kitchen eating a late breakfast.

Yuzu was perched on one of the bar stools along one side of the large kitchen island, mechanically chewing on a piece of dry toast. Her head was pounding and her stomach felt queasy. Like several of her sisters, she was nursing a hangover. Not the debilitating kind; she didn't get totally wasted at Madison's party last night.

But she certainly needed several hard drinks after Mei dragged her into the bathroom and soundly  _kissed_ her.

The sensory memory of Mei's body pressed up against hers, hands gripping her waist under her shirt, tongue stroking hers flashed into her mind, and she suddenly felt dizzy. And that wasn't from the hangover.

Yuzu couldn't find Mei at the party after that. After about half an hour of covertly searching for Mei in all the rooms of the house, the blonde had to accept the fact that her roommate had probably gone home. Harumi was also nowhere to be found, and so Yuzu parked her butt on the couch and sulkily drank cranberry vodkas with two Chemical Engineering dudes until the rest of her sorority sisters were ready to go back home. She would have absolutely gone back home earlier (and confront her roommate), but she stupidly forgot her phone at the sorority house and couldn't take an Uber by herself.

When she finally arrived at the house, she sprinted up the stairs to her bedroom on the third floor. She barely managed to keep the door from banging against the wall when she threw it open.

Mei was in bed, fast asleep.

Yuzu hesitated at the door. She resisted the urge to march over to Mei's bed and shake her awake and say,  _tell me exactly what that kiss meant…. how are you just sleeping right now?_

But she couldn't, of course. Not unless she wanted to die. Mei had put the fear of God in her the very first night they spent as roommates. She informed Yuzu to never wake her when she was sleeping, the only exception if there was a four-alarm fire in their house.

When Yuzu woke up that morning, she was alone in the room. She glanced at Mei's empty bed, neatly made with military corners.

The blonde got up and snatched a baby blue Chi Theta Sigma hoodie from the foot of her bed. She ran down the stairs to the first floor while pulling on the hoodie. She stopped at the window facing the back of the house, scanning the parking lot for Mei's silver Audi.

_Okay. Mei's here._

And now here she was, nonchalantly eating breakfast with the rest of her sisters. Waiting for a certain raven-haired sorority president to show up. A raven-haired sorority president who she totally made out with in a bathroom at a party last night.

After a few minutes of anxiously fidgeting on the barstool, Mei suddenly appeared in Yuzu's line of sight. The sorority president walked up to the refrigerator and opened the door.

_Be cool._

Yuzu's body was frozen, but her eyes tracked Mei's movements across the kitchen. She watched her pour a half cup of frozen blueberries and shove several stalks of kale into a bullet blender. Yuzu painfully swallowed the bite of dry toast in her mouth.

Yuzu noted Mei's salmon-colored cashmere sweater, carefully pressed white capri pants and tan ballet flats. Her sleek black hair was draped her over the front of her shoulder, not a strand out of place. She looked super put together and chic, per usual.  _Not_  like she just rolled out of bed and wearing Yuzubocchi pajamas and a too-big hoodie.

_Be cool. Quit acting like you have no game._

She flipped her hair over her shoulder, leaned back against the back of the bar stool, and groaned, "Ugghh got so drunk last night you guys. My liver is going to need like a few days to recover."

Kayla chuckled beside her, putting down her half-eaten Little Debbie cupcake. "Yeah, the party was lit. I'm glad I went."

"What she means is, she made out with that cutie in the yellow shirt," Blaire snickered, grabbing Kayla's cupcake bit from the countertop and popping it in her mouth.

Yuzu's gaze darted towards Mei. Her roommate still had her back to her. No acknowledgement of her presence in the kitchen.

Which was not out of the ordinary. Mei rarely spoke to her unless it was necessary. Yuzu's eyebrows knitted and her mouth twisted.

Blaire turned to her with a playful smirk. "What about you, Yuzu? Any action? I saw you talking with Drew."

"Ummm," Yuzu hummed as her mind tumbled over possible replies to this question.

In her peripheral vision, she watched Mei sit down on a chair at the long dining table beside Himeko. The two started talking over their healthy food. Mei still hadn't as much as spared a glance her way. A cold trickle of dread snaked into her stomach.

"Well," Yuzu stalled. She chuckled lightly.  _What do I say? Oh yah, I got some action all right. Mei Aihara, our president, french kissed me in the bathroom. It was great. I would have totally let her go to second base._

Blaire and Kayla were looking at her expectantly. They weren't looking at her like they expected her to confess to some sordid sexcapade the night before, but to just answer the question. It was her damn turn to speak.

Yuzu cut her eyes towards Mei again. Girl was sitting primly in her chair, daintily drinking her blueberry kale smoothie with a compostable paper straw, the picture of wholesome preppy sorority girl. Mei still hadn't deigned to spare a glance her way.

She didn't need to have a 4.0 GPA to realize that their kiss last night wasn't something she should blurt out in the middle of breakfast as everyone was nursing their hangovers.

"Nah, Drew's cute and all, but I wasn't feeling it. Maybe next time," Yuzu mumbled.

Kayla leaned forward and cupped her chin on the palm of her hand. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Yeah? Well what about that girl who did that body shot on you. You hit that or nah?"

Still watching her roommate, Yuzu could have sworn Mei reacted at the mention of Matsuri. Her back stiffened and her chest hitched. But just as quickly, it was gone. Was she imagining things? Wishful thinking?  _Shit, probably._

"Oh, haha. Nah," Yuzu replied, her voice sounding too forced even to her own ears. "But that was fun. I wouldn't mind a round two."

Mei Aihara continued to give her full attention to Himeko and no one else. She eventually got up from the table and placed her bullet cup in the dishwashing machine.

As she watched Mei exit the kitchen, Yuzu clenched her jaw so hard it almost cracked. Her roommate didn't look her way, not even once.

_So that's how you wanna play it? Fine._

* * *

Harumin quickly walked up the circular driveway of the Chi Theta Sigma sorority house, an enormous building constructed in the Greek Revival style, as was the case for most of the houses on this street nicknamed  _Frat Row_. Out of the seventeen fraternities and sororities on Washtenaw Avenue, Chi Theta Sigma had the largest and grandest house.

Harumin slowed down as she went up the porch that extended on the whole front of the house, with three towering white-washed Ionic columns on either side of the door. She cracked open the door a few inches and listened for sounds of people in the foyer.

Hearing nothing, Harumin quickly slipped inside and carefully shut the door behind her with a quiet click. The faint sound of voices confirmed to her that the girls were in the kitchen. She walked up the stairs as fast as she could without making a sound.

After entering her room, she stripped off her clothes from the night before, tossing them into the hamper by her desk. As she reached into her closet for her favorite sweater, she caught her reflection in the mirror attached to the cabinet door.

"Goddamit Matsuri," she hissed, tilting her head to the side to stare at the the dark red bruise right above her collarbone. She stuffed the v-neck sweater back into the closet. Searching for a shirt with a high collar, Harumi grumbled, "I told you, no fucking hickies."

An image of the younger woman beneath her, her pink ombré hair fanned out on the pillow, rose to the front of her mind unbidden. Ice blue eyes staring up at her, pupils blown wide with arousal, arms wrapped around her neck. Harumi moved inside her, and Matsuri's eyes fluttered closed, a moan slipping out of her parted lips. When she started to approach her peak, she leaned forward and started to suck on Harumi's clavicle like she was trying to draw blood.

Harumi checked her reflection in the mirror to make sure her sweater covered her her collarbone. There was a dusting of pink over her cheeks.  _Great._

The brunette whipped around to face the door when she heard someone barge in.

"Harumi!" Yuzu cried. "Where the heck did you go last night? I was looking all over for you."

_Well, I had to drag Matsuri away from you, but I forgot that she literally lived in that house…so we went upstairs to her room._

"Oh, Matsuri and I were hungry, so we left."

Yuzu gave her friend a suspicious side-eye.

"…and ate out."

"Okay so why didn't you bring me along? You know I love me a late night taco." Yuzu rolled her eyes and shook her head. She swatted the air like she was dismissing a situation that didn't quite add up, but didn't have the mental bandwidth to deal with at the moment. "Whatever. Holy crap dude, I need your advice!"

"I am a wise sage. Shoot." Harumi grinned and leaned against the door of the closet.

Yuzu plopped down on Harumi's bed, her shoulders slumped. Her brows knitted together and her eyes darted around the room, and Harumi could practically hear the gears in the blonde's head turning.

"All right. Let's say that there's this person, who kinda acts like they hate me, they're always glaring at me and criticizing my clothes and how I spend my time… but sometimes I feel like there's something  _else_  going on between us that's not just pure hate."

Clearly getting worked up over her own story, Yuzu's eyes widened and her hands start gesticulating. "Like there's this incredible sexual tension between us but I'm not 100% sure if it's really there or I'm just imagining it? But sometimes I catch this person looking at me and it's like they want to  _raw_ me."

Harumi's eye twitched. She did not need the mental image of Yuzu getting  _rawed_  by this mysterious "person." Sighing, she asked, "You're talking about Mei, right?"

Yuzu bit her lip and was silent for a while. Then with a pitiful expression on her face, she nodded frantically.

"Oh sweetie," Harumi said in a pitying tone.

Yuzu dramatically flopped on her back on Harumi's bed, her arms flung out to her sides. "You don't understand! Something happened last night!"

"Okay, tell me what happened."

"She kissed me. Like full-on, honest to god, kissed me, with  _tongue_." Yuzu stressed that last word.

Harumi stared at the blonde lying on her bed staring at the ceiling. "Hmm. Interesting."

Cautiously, Harumi asked, "Was she…drunk?"

Yuzu lifted her head from the mattress to scowl at her. "Yeah, she was drunk." Then she looked away, trying to hide the hurt expression that overtook her face. "And now she wants to act like it didn't happen."

Harumi nodded sympathetically and sat down on the foot of the bed beside Yuzu's bent knees. With a rueful smile, she patted the blonde's kneecap. "I'm sorry babe. But I'm sure you realize that straight girls get drunk at parties and then make out with other girls all the time. It's like, practically a rite of passage in college."

There was a distressed sound from the back of Yuzu's throat. The blonde curled her hands into fists and banged them against the mattress. "This is such bullshit! I don't understand her! She can't just mess with my head like that."

"I know, babe. It's kind of a dick move. But I don't think she was being malicious about it. Alcohol makes you do stupid things. Really, we should all never drink again."

Yuzu giggled at that.

Harumin squeezed her friend's knee. "Don't read too much into it, okay? I mean it's weird that Mei got so faded to the point that she did something she regretted. But I don't know, maybe she's just under a lot of stress."

Yuzu sat up from the bed. She laid her head on Harumi's shoulder and said bitterly, "Yeah, yeah. I'm just gonna play her game and act like nothing happened."

* * *

Harumi's good advice flew out the window the next time Yuzu had a heated argument with her roommate. Mei was again ragging on Yuzu about her flightiness, impulsivity, disregard for rules, etc. etc. In a fit of anger, Yuzu reached for the ace up her sleeve.

"If you think I'm so terrible, why did you kiss me then?"

Yuzu flung the words across their shared bedroom, mentally smacking Mei on the face with her question.

But instead of recoiling, Mei's shoulders rolled back and her lip curled into a sneer. "I did it because you were acting like a fool at that party. Kissing you seemed like an easy way to shut you up for a few minutes."

Yuzu's eyes widened and her mouth fell. "You're fucking awful."

Crossing her arms across her chest, Mei agreed. "Maybe so."

* * *

After that particular confrontation, Yuzu spent noticeably less time in their room.

During the week the blonde would be out all day, attending classes, going to the gym on campus, hanging out with Harumi, and participating in all their sorority events. She never did her homework in their room like Mei did, instead going to the Starbucks down the street or in the study lounge on the first floor of their house.

* * *

It was a Friday afternoon, and Mei walked into their room to find Yuzu in front of their vanity table with a curling iron in her hair. Both her hands were occupied with the task of curling a golden lock of hair into a loose wave, and she was speaking into her phone that was pinched between her cheek and shoulder.

"I figure we can go to Dusty's and grab a burger if the wait isn't over half an hour, and then I told Sam we would pregame at their place before hitting up Chrome Bar."

Mei's mouth twisted as she pulled out her laptop from her bookbag. She wished Yuzu would hurry up and finish getting dressed, and get the heck out of here. The sooner the blonde left to kick off her weekend of partying, the better.

She willfully ignored Yuzu's presence as she sat on her bed, leaning back against the headboard and started going through the many emails she received from the Panhellenic council about Charity Week.

"I'm wearing that blue dress from Topshop. It makes my tits look  _great_ ," Yuzu giggled in the phone.

Mei's heart clenched painfully. She double-tapped the trackpad to hit the Reply button with more force than necessary.

"Do you think I should wear my black stilettos with the 4-inch heels? Or is that too much for our night?"

A snide comment started to bubble up from the pit Mei's stomach, something along the lines of  _well your 'fuck me heels' will send a pretty clear message_ , threatening to spill from her mouth and lash towards the blonde. Her eyes snapped up from her laptop, but the words immediately died on her tongue. Yuzu was leaning over the vanity to peer into the mirror, the cleavage of the aforementioned blue dress indeed making her tits look great. Her mouth slightly parted, she was applying sheer lip gloss over her lipstick.

Mei's throat dried up as she continued to stare at the blonde drag the brush along her plump red lips. She was applying the gloss in thin layers, and Mei couldn't tear her eyes away from those luscious ribbons of flesh getting wetter and shinier with each pass of the wand.

She knew how those lips felt and tasted. So incredibly soft and sweet. How Yuzu's mouth parted so easily for her tongue. Heat started to gather between her thighs.

Yuzu plunged the wand back into the lip gloss tube with a sharp snap.

Mei's gaze dropped back to the screen on her lap. Annoyance pinched her features.

"Okay, okay, I'll wear them if you wear yours." Yuzu stood on one foot as she held her phone to her ear with one hand and slipped on a black stiletto with the other. "All right, I'm ready. Meet me downstairs in one minute."

At the doorway with her back to her, Yuzu said, "Later, Mei. Have a good night."

The door closed before Mei could have a chance to respond. Not that she would have.

Now that her roommate left for her usual weekend of partying, she could finally drown herself in her work in peace.

* * *

Mei didn't see Yuzu again for the rest of the weekend.

On Sunday night, the blonde strolled in wearing a bomber jacket and distressed jeans that were ripped from mid-shin to upper thigh. Mei wondered when she had come back into their room and changed. But she wasn't about to ask, obviously. She didn't give a flying fuck where the blonde went and what she did.

Besides, Yuzu was in no condition to have a conversation. As soon as she walked into their room, she slipped off her espadrille wedge sandals, crawled into her bed, and promptly fell asleep.

Mei knew that as usual, the blonde would spend at least the next twelve hours recovering from her weekend bender.

From across the room, Mei stared at the sheet-covered lump on her roommate's bed, blond locks spilling across the pillow. A pang of sadness stabbed through her chest as she watched the blonde sleep.

But she was glad it was Sunday night.

* * *

It was early Friday evening of Halloween weekend, and like the majority of college students across America, the sisters of Chi Theta Sigma were getting ready for a round of costume parties.

The sisters were gathered in the formal living room to see everyone's costumes before they headed out. They also needed to take pictures of the costumed girls so that it could go on the sorority's website and Facebook page.

Mei, who was not wearing a costume, was the designated photographer.

It wasn't hard for Mei to spot Yuzu. Even in a room full of girls dressed up in all manners of costume, the blonde was a definite head-turner. After she took photos of most of the girls, she made her way towards Yuzu and Harumi.

Mei took a good look at Yuzu's get up for a couple of seconds. She told herself that it was fine for her to look right now, because Yuzu was in costume.

"And who are you supposed to be? Is this a character from a comic or something?" Mei asked with a tilt of her head.

Yuzu was wearing brown leather knee-high motorcycle boots over yellow thigh-high socks. Tiny black lycra shorts hugged her lips, and a sheer white half-skirt hung from the sides of a wide brown leather belt. A bright yellow tube top over her breasts peeked out from between the lapels of a cropped brown jacket with puffy sleeves. About half of her midriff was bare. She wore yellow gauntlets that covered her wrists to the middle of her forearm. The whole look was topped off by an orange scarf around her neck.

"It's from an animated show called RWBY. This character is the most badass in the whole show," Yuzu said with a smile. "She's a huntress and kills monsters with these." She held up her wrists to show Mei the gauntlets. "They turn into super-powered shotguns."

Nodding, Mei turned to Harumi. The girl had black cat ears poking out from the top of her head. "And you're a…. sexy cat."

Harumi smirked and placed her hand on her hip. "No, I'm another character from the same show. She's also a huntress."

"Uh huh." Mei nodded.  _Looks like a sexy cat to me._   _How original._

She took their picture in front of the large fireplace that had the sorority's gold-plated letters attached to the wall over the mantle.

"Not going out tonight?" Yuzu asked after she looked at the picture from Mei's phone.

Mei knew that her roommate was aware that she wasn't going out tonight. It irritated her that the blonde would ask such a pointless question. Why was it so hard to believe that she didn't like going out on the weekends? That she hated loud, drunken parties where the only thing for her to do was stare at people getting high or grind on each other?

"No," Mei snapped, turning away. "I have better things to do."

* * *

It was half past midnight, and Mei was still awake. She finished working on her Econ report a while ago, finally reaching her limit for the night. She would have normally gone to sleep as soon as she closed the lid of her Macbook, but she was feeling restless and edgy so she decided to read in bed until she fell asleep.

She was twenty pages into Ruth Bader Ginsberg's biography but she still wasn't the least bit sleepy. Mei sighed and turned the page. She tried to concentrate on what she was reading but her mind kept drifting.

_Party lights flashing, catching on a mane of luxurious blond hair. Long dark lashes coquettishly lowered over dark emerald eyes. Tiny black shorts hugging the curves of a narrow waist and sexy hips, bumping and gyrating to the thumping bass of a syncopated beat. The smile on her face is like liquor. An arm snakes across her bare stomach, and someone pulls her close. She leans back against them, presses her body against them and she starts–_

Mei slammed the book close with a bang. She screwed her eyes shut, forcefully quashing the errant images of a sorority girl dancing and drinking at a college Halloween party, all eyes on her. Mei's  _seen_  the way people look at this girl when she's in the middle of a dance floor. Her blonde roommate was in the cheer squad in her old university, and it showed. She knew how to dance and move her body in way that commanded attention.

Mei groaned and tossed the book on her bedside table. She lay back on her pillow and glared at the ceiling.

_Ugh. Just go to sleep. What are you doing? You'll be so tired tomorrow for the Charity Week meeting._

The soft click of the doorknob turning was like a gunshot to Mei's ears.

The door swung open, revealing Yuzu leaning heavily against the jamb, holding on to the doorknob to keep herself upright.

Mei's first thought at seeing her roommate was that it was way too early for Yuzu to be home. A big party night like this one, she had expected her to come back at 3am at the earliest.

The doorway was in shadow, as it was beyond the circle of warm orange light from Mei's small bedside lamp, but she could see Yuzu's unfocused, drunk gaze searching the room. Yuzu's gaze eventually found her lying in bed, and the blonde's lips pulled into a smirk.

"Mei," she whispered loudly. Then her voice warbled in a high-pitched singsong note, "Hiiiiii."

A burning lump rose in Mei's throat. She hissed, "You're drunk. I told you to not come back here until you've sobered up."

Yuzu's response was a giggle as she let go of the doorknob and kicked the door close behind her.

"Be quiet," Mei snapped. "I was just about to fall asleep."

A dark coil of tension was tightening in her stomach at the sight of Yuzu slinking around in their room in that ridiculous, revealing outfit.

Mei watched Yuzu prop her foot on top of a storage bench and pull down the zipper of her knee-high motorcycle boots. After repeating the action on her other leg, she pulled off her boots and they landed on the floor with two loud  _thunks_. Mei's anger spiked. "You're going to wake up Christine and Lauren if you keep dropping your things on the floor!"

Yuzu turned around to face Mei. With a roll of her eyes, she informed her roommate of the location of the two girls who lived in the room below them. "They're at the Sigma Pi party. They wont be home for hours." Then she pinched the zipper of her jacket and pulled it down, still staring at Mei, as if challenging her to say anything more.

Mei felt her heart slowly relocate to her throat as Yuzu shrugged off the crop jacket from her shoulders. Her roommate now stood a few feet away from her in the yellow tube top covering her breasts, tiny black shorts and the knee-high socks. Despite her standing in the shadows, Mei was able to trace every delicious curve of Yuzu's body with her eyes.

With a huff, she grabbed the top of her blanket and tugged it up to her shoulders. "Seriously, I'm going to sleep now." Grumbling, she threatened, "I'm going to turn off my light."

"Oh, Mei." The blonde drawled, hooking her thumbs on the hem of her shorts. "You're no fun. It's a Saturday night of Halloween weekend, and it's not even 1:00am."

Mei tore her eyes away from Yuzu taking off her bottoms like she had accidentally been staring into a solar eclipse. The image was certainly burned into her retinas.

She felt fury rise in her chest. She was infuriated at Yuzu for being so carefree about undressing in their room. She had no sense of propriety. Why couldn't she change in the bathroom?

A second later, her eyes snapped back, her gaze irresistibly drawn to Yuzu's bent form. She watched Yuzu slowly slide her shorts down her legs and step out of them. The blonde pulled down her shorts so slowly and sensually it was almost like she knew Mei was watching. And that's when she saw it— Yuzu was wearing a black lacy thong underneath.

Mei practically threw herself to the side towards her bedside table. Her hands fumbled for the pull cord on the lamp as she announced, "I don't care if you think I'm totally lame, I'm going to sleep!"

The room was plunged into near darkness after she cut the light from her lamp. A beam of moonlight streaming through a gap in the curtains illuminated Yuzu standing between the two beds in the room.

Mei heard Yuzu chuckle darkly, low and throaty. The sound scraped over her nerves, like sandpaper. A prickling heat unfurled in her stomach.

She screwed her eyes shut and let her head sink into her pillow. She was going to sleep. That's it. No more weirdness.

She heard the rustle of fabric sliding over skin, and in her mind's eye she clearly saw Yuzu pulling off her yellow tube top. A soft  _plonk_  from Yuzu's side of the room indicated that she simply flung her garment off after removing it.

Mei's eyes were closed but the image of Yuzu's bare shoulders and upper chest burned in her mind. Her traitorous mind supplied the expanse of creamy white skin and delicate collarbones above the swell of her breasts. She could even picture the strapless bra that the blonde was undoubtedly wearing right now. That nude-colored bra squished together and pushed up Yuzu's boobs in a way that was mouth-watering.

Mei's fingers curled, fisting the sheets at her side. She felt so unnerved and frustrated she could weep.

It was made worse when she sensed Yuzu's presence beside her.

She cracked open her lids, her pulse quickening in her veins. Standing over her bed was Yuzu silhouetted against the moonlight, her features in complete shadow.

"Yuzu, I have a breakfast meeting tomorrow at 8am. I don't care that it's the biggest party night of fall semester. If you're staying in this room, get in bed now because I want to go to sleep," she growled.

Mei didn't mean to sound as angry as she did, but the charged atmosphere in the room was heightening her reactions. Her skin was humming with latent electricity.

It was as if a storm was circling low, thrumming. And her spot on the bed felt like ground zero.

"All right," Yuzu chirped. Taking hold of the edge of Mei's blanket, she lifted it and then slipped under the covers.

There was a little shuffling on Yuzu's part, but she was able to crawl on top of Mei with relative ease. She lifted her leg over Mei's hips and balanced her weight on her elbows on either side of the brunette's head.

Mei was so utterly shocked at finding Yuzu lying on top of her, legs straddling her hips, that she simply laid frozen under the blonde, unable to move, her breath trapped in her chest.

"Hi," Yuzu drawled, and Mei could hear the cocky smile in her voice. The blonde's breath ghosted over her lips, and it sent a bolt of white-hot heat to shoot down her spine.

The need for a response to the greeting jarred Mei from her shock. She almost said  _Hi_  back from force of habit, and because her brain still wasn't functioning normally.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mei finally said in a voice that she wished sounded way more angry than it was.

Yuzu chuckled again, and it was the worst. Low and throaty, it did funny things to Mei's stomach.

Bringing her mouth next to Mei's ear, Yuzu husked, "Trick or treat?"

* * *

 

 

_In case you wanted a visual of Yuzu's Halloween costume:_


	4. sisterly love?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuzutop, suckas.

"Trick or treat?" Yuzu asked coyly.

The room was dark, but there was enough moonlight bleeding through the curtains for Mei to see the curve of Yuzu's smile, glinting like a knife. She wondered how deep it could cut her open.

She inhaled deeply, shoring up the energy for her righteous anger and indignation.

 _How dare_  Yuzu just climb in her bed and then drape herself on top of her? The  _nerve_. The  _audacity_. She had made it clear to Yuzu that she couldn't so much as touch her things. Why would the blonde assume it was all right to touch  _her_?!

But there was the temperature that was steadily rising in her body, heat blooming in all the places where Yuzu's body was in contact with hers. She turned off the light so that she could escape the image of Yuzu's lithe, nearly naked, tempting, sinful body. But now she was  _feeling_  that accursed body draped all over her instead of  _seeing_  it.

Mei concentrated on ignoring how utterly tantalizing Yuzu's bare skin felt against hers. The blonde shifted a bit on top of her, causing their skin to slide against each other, and Mei barely suppressed a shiver from the skin to skin contact.

"I'm not going to respond to that," Mei retorted in a cold voice. But not quite cold enough. She only managed to sound slightly irritated, instead of the  _bitchy_  that she was shooting for. Her voice was too breathy, like she didn't trust herself to speak, like she was trying to hedge the response, like she was asking for something else entirely.

"Aww, you don't wanna play Trick or Treat?" Mei felt Yuzu's index finger on the side of her face, tracing a line from her cheek to her jaw. She swallowed against a dry throat.  _Concentrate. She just wants to get a rise out of you._

"I guess I'll have to choose for you then." Yuzu's fingers were now on her chin, a thumb grazing the bottom of her lower lip, before sliding down to caress her neck and collarbone. Those fingers left a trail of heat that prickled across her skin.

Mei pushed her hands against Yuzu's shoulders with all the force of a crippled kitten. "Listen, I-"

"You're going to get a  _treat_ , even though you kind of don't deserve it."

Yuzu's head dipped down and Mei felt soft lips on her neck, and whatever rebuttal she was formulating immediately flew from her mind. Her stomach dropped from the rush of that initial contact.

Up until this point Mei could pretend, could ignore, could deny, deny,  _deny_. It was still possible to cover up this horrible, all-consuming attraction to Yuzu by acting like a bitch towards her.

But the charade couldn't hold up now; now that she was letting Yuzu very sensually kiss her damn neck. And letting the blonde's hands wander down her body, feeling up the sides of her torso through her tank top.

Desire was coiling in her stomach, and her fingers curled against Yuzu's shoulders. She closed her eyes tightly, mustering the mental fortitude to put a stop to this. But with each sucking kiss that was laid on her neck and every second that passed with Yuzu exploring her body, it was getting harder and harder. She felt her control slipping away, even as she vainly tried to hold onto it.

"You feel so good, just like I knew you would." The murmured confession from Yuzu was so disarming that Mei's next inhale came as a hitched gasp.

 _Oh this is bad. Very bad._ Mei felt like she was being carried away out to sea, and the shore where she anchored her carefully controlled emotions was slowly fading out of sight.  _Must stop. Think of tomorrow._

A whimper escaped from her throat when Yuzu's hands slipped under her tank top and cupped her bare breasts, sending a rush of arousal to settle wetly between her legs.

Mei had a moment to feel embarrassed about the needy sound and then worried that she might make more, before Yuzu claimed her mouth in a heated kiss.

The kiss started out with lips crushing against each other, until Mei sucked Yuzu's lower lip into her mouth. Sensing the shift, the blonde deftly parted Mei's lips with her tongue and slipped inside. Mei welcomed her sorority sister's tongue in her mouth with a hunger that surprised them both. Their tongues met, slipped and stroked against each other, eager for to taste each other's flavor again.

As Yuzu dominated their kiss, Mei had a dim awareness that their roles were reversed from that time in the bathroom. She was the one who initiated the kiss, who pushed the boundary, who crossed the line.

If she had realized back then that she was playing with fire, would she have tried even harder to resist her impulse to kiss Yuzu? But she  _had_ tried. She had tried so very hard. She should probably try even harder now.

Yuzu brushed her thumbs against Mei's nipples, and the brunette couldn't contain her hungry moan, or the shiver that shook her spine, or the way her hips arched off the mattress, seeking out more contact with Yuzu. She needed more of the blonde's weight on her, because she felt like she was going to fly out of her own skin.

Her head was spinning, she was moaning into Yuzu's mouth as the blonde dragged her thumb back and forth across her nipples until they hardened. With each brush of tongue and each stroke on the peak of her breasts, there was an answering throb between her legs, the tiny muscle pulsing in sympathetic response.

The blonde broke their liplock, raised herself a few inches, and gripped the bunched up fabric of Mei's tanktop with one hand. "Hey, let's take this off," Yuzu coaxed invitingly, as if she knew that she needed to sell the other woman on the idea.

A little dazed, it took Mei a second to gather her wits enough to respond with an indignant scoff. "What? Are you serious? How dare you! I can't believe—"

"C'mon, just the shirt," the blonde cooed down at her, teasing one of her nipples with a circling fingertip.

A protest bubbled up from her chest but only a weak sound of disapproval escaped her mouth as she raised her arms above her head to allow her roommate to tug the tanktop off of her. The garment was summarily tossed to an unimportant corner of their room.

The cool air nipping at her bare torso made the raven-haired woman feel exposed. Refusing to be the only one in this room who was topless, she reached behind Yuzu and unhooked her bra strap with a deft snap of her fingers.  _Quid pro quo._

"Mei, it's almost like you've had a lot of practice removing other girls' bras," Yuzu teased as she let the woman beneath her pull the undergarment away.

"You've got a real smart mouth," Mei snapped. She didn't want to converse with the object of her sexual frustration, the one who had been driving her insane  _for months_. She wanted her to  _shut up_. She hissed, "Why don't you put it to good use?"

She slipped her fingers into golden hair and tugged the blonde's head down, guiding her to where she needed it. Her nipples were aching and needy, and it was Yuzu's fault they got that way. When Yuzu's soft lips closed around a sensitive nub, a mewl tore its way from her throat.

The sensation of Yuzu tongue licking her hardened nipple with languid, teasing strokes was one of the most erotic acts she had ever experienced, and she couldn't help the reflexive jerk of her hips or the way her fingers tightened in Yuzu's hair, knowing that she was pulling enough to make it slightly hurt. She heard Yuzu hum quietly in approval when she gave a hard tug on her blond locks.

Mei, ever the academic, was cataloguing her own body's responses, and she knew she was racing through the female stages of arousal. Hell, she probably skipped several steps, and she was now just horribly  _turned on_ , beyond belief.

She was nearing the point of no return, approaching the curve in the road where pumping the brakes would still be possible. Because just beyond the bend was a hundred foot drop to a yawning chasm where she failed to resist her deepest, darkest desire.

"Yuzu." She shredded the name with a hitched breath. She was going to tell her that they needed to stop. Even for just a bit, just to gather their wits and figure out what the fuck they were doing. But she lacked the brainpower to form the words. Maybe because it was her hands that now had a mind of their own, hungrily roaming Yuzu's body.

Yuzu felt Mei's hands slide down to her ass, softly tracing the tiny lace triangle of her thong. She felt Mei slowly cup her cheeks, almost shyly at first, and then squeeze. Yuzu released the nipple that was in her mouth and arched her back slightly.

Mei took this opportunity to move her hands from Yuzu's behind to her chest. A happy sigh passed her lips when she cupped the shapely mounds that she had been taunting her for so long. Giving them a gentle squeeze, relishing their delightful heft, the brunette admitted to herself that they felt so much better than she could have ever imagined.

Still cupping Yuzu's breasts in her hands, she leaned up and started covering her roommate's chest with tender kisses. The woman on top of her was clearly pleased at the attention she was showering on her chest, if her small moans were any indication.

Hearing Yuzu moan raised a tingle in her spine, and Mei found herself wanting to coax more sounds of pleasure from the woman straddling her. Going by pure instinct and her own wants, she trailed her lips towards Yuzu's neck before sinking her teeth into the soft flesh.

Mei was rewarded by a long, drawn out groan. She quickly saved this bit of information in her mind under a brand new folder called  _Things That Yuzu Likes In Bed._  She tangled her fingers in Yuzu's hair and angled her head to the side so she could access the whole expanse of the blonde's neck.

She was licking the bite mark she made on Yuzu's skin when a knee found its way between her legs. A lightning bolt of pleasure crackled through her, and she whimpered against the crook of Yuzu's neck. The thigh that was now slotted between hers was bringing attention to a part of her body that was previously neglected since all this started: her needy, aching core.

Yuzu fused their lips in a passionate kiss as she very slowly but quite firmly moved her thigh up and down between Mei's legs. The friction she felt from the thigh dragging against her heated core was like lighting a match to tinder.

Tilting her head back to disengage from the kiss that was making her head swim, Mei panted for breath. "Yuzu," she rasped. It sounded too much like a plea. She tried again, this time attempting a more authoritative tone. "Yuzu, hang on."

The blonde stilled her movements. "What is it?"

 _Oh nothing major, just the fact that you're grinding on me while I'm topless. No biggie_.

"What are we doing?"

"We're having sex, Mei."

"But we hate each other."

There was enough light in the room for Mei to catch the odd expression that crossed Yuzu's face before it was quickly replaced by a cocky smile. She rolled her eyes and quipped, "Hate sex is great sex. Prepare yourself for greatness."

"Yuzu, I know that you're drunk right now and I got carried away, but you and I are complete opposites and we've been at each other's throats since day one, and you have to realize that this highly is inappropriate, and I haaaa…"

Pulling Mei's panties and pajamas down her legs, Yuzu responded conversationally, "Oh don't stop, keep telling me how much you hate me, babe." She yanked the bottoms off the lying woman and tossed them over her shoulder.

Mei grunted in protest, weak even to her own ears. She couldn't just  _let_  Yuzu undress her completely. She still hadn't properly berated the blonde for her audacity, for coming over here and doing these things to her. For leading them both into this madness. Now was the time to kick the blonde out of her bed.

"I really hate you," Mei whined desperately.

But when Yuzu reached down and slipped a hand between her legs, she found Mei so very wet, found her smeared all over the inside of her thighs.

Mei screwed her eyes shut at the touch of Yuzu's hand on her wetness. Her protests, her lies, her general bitchy attitude towards Yuzu could no longer stand up to the evidence between her legs.

"Why, hello there," Yuzu purred, clearly pleased at what she found. Her hand slipped higher, until her index finger was resting against the apex of Mei's thighs. "This is a very nice surprise."

Mei's eyes flew open. She might be embarrassed at her state of affairs down there, but she was in no mood to be fucking teased. She had endured months of being tortured day in and day out as Yuzu's roommate, and she reached her limit.

Needy, aching, desperate, and utterly done wasting time, She wrapped her hand around the back of Yuzu's neck and yanked. "Shut up and fuck me already, Yuzu."

"So impatient." Mercifully Yuzu said nothing more and simply obliged.

Yuzu dipped two fingertips in her soaked folds and dragged them up and down slowly, lightly, teasing. As if she just wanted to get her fingertips wet.

Mei wondered if the blonde was enjoying this, teasing her, making her practically writhe from the latent ache of it all.

The fingers slipped a little higher, glancing her swollen clit, and she  _keened._ Grabbing Yuzu's forearm, Mei whined, "Inside. Please, just get inside me."

If it wasn't so dark, Mei would have seen the shit-eating grin that formed on Yuzu's face.

"Well, okay, just because you said  _please_. " Yuzu angled her arm and wrist for a better range of motion to give Mei the ride of her life. She had fantasized about this particular scenario more times than was healthy, picturing them in different positions, taking into account their height differences, their limbs, etc. She was prepared.

"Had I known there was a way to get you to be this nice…"

Mei groaned in frustration. "Yuzu, I swear, if you don't stop running your mouth and get inside me, I'm just going to take care of myself!" She fought the urge to start pulling at blond hair. The itch biting her insides was now unbearable.

Two fingers entered her and her head fell back against her pillow, reeling from the delicious sensation of being filled. It felt so good, to no longer feel desperately achy and empty. And of course there was the fact that it was Yuzu doing the  _filling._

The brunette shoved aside the insanity of the fact that she was sleeping with Yuzu. That was now a problem for future Mei. All that mattered at the present moment was the brilliant, molten core of pleasure that Yuzu was stirring inside her with those very talented fingers.

Yuzu was hitting all the right spots in her silken tunnel with each plunge into her sopping core. It was like the blonde was given a cheat sheet to her box and she was just cheerfully finding and then mashing all of her buttons. And each button was a live wire to the pleasure center of her brain, and the organ was dispatching neurons overloaded with pleasure.

Distantly, she realized that the wanton moans and keening sounds filling their room was from  _her_. But she simply couldn't help it, not when Yuzu was fucking her harder with each progressive stroke. She had started the pace nice and easy, but now her hips were being ground into the mattress with each slam.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Mei chanted with each urgent rock of her hips against Yuzu's hand. She was determined to match Yuzu stroke for stroke; her father did not raise a quitter. On the outstroke and she pulled back, on the instroke she rocked her hips forward to hilt those fingers as deep as they could go.

Hearing the prim and proper Mei Aihara curse helplessly while bouncing on her fingers was the sexiest moment in Yuzu's life. There was probably going to be hell to pay tomorrow, but she wouldn't trade this for anything.

"Oh yes, just like that baby. Thaaaat's a good girl. Bounce for me. You look so hot right now, oh my god…"

Mei could make out half of Yuzu's babbling, but she couldn't really process the words, but she found that she liked hearing Yuzu's voice, talking to her, because it felt like a tether to this bed they were in, in this room they shared.

"Harder," she moaned to her blond lover.  _Wow._  She said that. She  _actually_  said that. Where did that come from? "Faster."

"Yes," Yuzu gasped.

So agreeable.

The new rhythm between her legs pretty much guaranteed that she wouldn't last long. There was a drumline beating in her ears, the heat and friction in her core starting to crescendo.

"Hhhnngh, oh shit!" Her spine whiplashed when Yuzu laid her other hand on her pelvis, then pressed her clit with her thumb. White hot pleasure flared in every cell of her body.

Mei bit back a scream as Yuzu's thumb rubbed tight little circles on her clit.

Yuzu was still talking, crooning praises and encouragement in her ear. She caught snatches of  _doing so good, that's it,_  and  _baby_. She mostly picked up the arousal that laced the woman's voice, and it only spurred her impending climax.

A sob rose in Mei's throat as Yuzu curled her fingers inside her.

Yuzu rubbed that magical patch of ridged flesh with her fingertips while the thumb of her other hand continued to stroke off Mei's clit. She was knocking on heaven's door while mashing the buzzer insistently.

As Mei's orgasm loomed, all the muscles in her core constricted involuntarily, squeezing around Yuzu's long fingers buried inside her. The sensation of the blonde's fingers in the tight clench of her body felt so delicious, so overwhelmingly good.

Mei's orgasm unfurled in her belly like a whip, then cracking across her muscles like lightning. Her eyes rolled back and her spine arched, suspended in perfection for a timeless moment.

With a keening moan, she tumbled over the edge, pleasure searing through her bones, release singing in her veins.

* * *

The loud ding of a notification from an iPhone broke the silence in the room. Yuzu slowly opened her eyes and saw her own bed bathed in the early morning light.

_Is that my phone?_

_Nah, I haven't set any alarms for today. Must be Mei's._

This train of thought slowly led her to the growing awareness of where she was.

First, she wasn't in her bed. She was in Mei's. And Mei was curled against her back, arm across her chest, holding her tight. She could feel the brunette's breath on the back of her neck.

Oh, and Mei was naked. Absolutely naked. She, on the other hand, only had her panties and the long knee-high socks on.

Yuzu bit her lip.  _Okay, don't panic. If you panic, she'll panic. She will kill your shit. Be cool. Be cool._

She tried to be still as possible, but after several minutes she couldn't pretend to be a statue anymore. Shifting as minutely as possible, she adjusted her shoulder to alleviate the pressure on her neck.

"Mmmm." Mei stirred gently behind her. Her roommate pulled her even closer against her chest, then bending her knees to tuck in Yuzu's bottom against the curve of her nip. There were snug as a bug.

The smile that was slowly forming on her face froze when Mei's hand moved to cup her boob. Her eyes widened when the brunette gave it a firm squeeze.

When Mei nuzzled her shoulder while gently rolling her nipple with her fingers, she mewled low in her throat.

She felt Mei go rigid. They lay frozen like that for several breathless moments: a naked Mei spooning her, hand curled around her breast.

Slowly, Mei retracted her hand from her chest, as if she was caught red-handed with a murder weapon.

Mei rolled over on her back and stared at the ceiling. "Um, so that—"

The iPhone dinged again. This time it was a text message notification.

"Wait, what time is it?" Mei cried as she quickly sat upright, yanking the blanket to cover her chest.

Yuzu yelped and scrambled to grab the nearest pillow to cover her bare torso.

"Uh, I'm not sure, but I heard your phone ding like five minutes ago."

"That was the reminder for the meeting that was about to start!" Mei squealed, leaping out of bed, yanking the whole blanket from the bed and wrapping it around her. "And it's at the Union Building!"

Yuzu had never seen a person throw on clothes so fast before. What made it even more impressive was the fact that Mei got dressed in record time while also covering up her body with the sheet.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm sure the council won't mind if you're late for, um, 10… or 13 minutes."

"Yuzu, I'm leading this meeting!" Mei hissed as she pulled on her flats. Grabbing her keys and bag, she ran to the door. Before she closed the door behind her, she glanced at Yuzu half-naked in  _her_  bed, blond hair tousled in that alluring just-fucked look. An expression equal parts horror and longing crossed her face, before she bolted down the hallway.

* * *

"Well, well, well," Matsuri drawled as soon as she spotted Yuzu threading her way through the brunch crowd at Denny's. She waited until the blonde sank into a chair at their table to say, "Look at what the cat dragged in."

"Hey guys. Thanks for waiting." Yuzu removed her dark sunglasses and immediately opened her menu. Pointing to the mug of coffee beside her silverware, she asked, "This mine?"

"Yep." Harumi nodded.

"Thanks, babe. You know me so well." She looked into the cup and sighed. "I'm not caffeinated enough for this morning." The blonde smiled gratefully at Harumi before taking a sip.

"So you dipped out pretty early last night," Matsuri said offhandedly, carefully setting up the bait.

"Uhuh," Yuzu agreed, sounding way too casual. Her eyes also shifted towards the table beside them, a family who was digging into a huge stack of banana-Nutella pancakes.

"I thought for sure you would stay out longer and hit at least half the parties on Frat Row, considering how much time you spent on your costume." Matsuri raised a brow at the blonde, " _Yang_."

The blonde shrugged. "Nah, it wasn't that special. The only thing I had to make was Ember Celica, the rest of the costume were clothes I owned."

"Hmmm, I guess. Well I for one, couldn't keep my eyes off this kitty cat." Matsuri smirked and reached towards the back of Harumi's head and dragged her nails down her scalp. "Did you know that her costume came with matching lingerie?" She shivered dramatically. "It was like, getting a surprise present when you were already unwrapping a present. That's going into the spank bank, let me tell you."

Harumi grabbed Matsuri's wrist and twisted it off her hair, earning a high-pitched squeak.

"God, what the fuck is wrong with you? If we weren't in a public place I would literally murder you right now," Harumi growled.

Yuzu calmly drank her coffee while Harumi and Matsuri tore at each other's throats, deep in her own thoughts.

"So why'd you leave so early last night?" The two had finished fighting, and Matsuri's attention returned to Yuzu.

Yuzu's chuckled nervously. "Oh, I just got drunk way too early. I was too tired…so I just decided to call it a night."

"Right." Matsuri grinned. The blonde bit the lure; time to bring her in. "So you just went home and passed out, huh?"

"Yeah," Yuzu nodded. "Went out like a light." A pensive expression crossed her face, furrowing her brow.

"You know, I bumped into your roommate this morning as she was running out to her car. She looked like she was in a real hurry to get somewhere." Matsuri said, gently reeling in the poor blonde, lest she jerk and snap the line.

"Uh, yeah. I guess she … overslept or something." Confusion pinched Yuzu's features as she was just now starting to realize where this was going.

A knowing smile spread across Matsuri's face. She glanced at Harumi then back at Yuzu. "Mei looked like she had just spent the night getting  _railed_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?
> 
> I'm not sure when I'll be posting the next chapter to this, I have to decide which one of my WIPs is getting updated next. I have stories I haven't updated since last year. But! The spring semester has thankfully ended, so now theoretically I have more time to write fic.


	5. Love me do!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuzu confronts Mei about last night. It goes about as well as you would expect!

When Yuzu walked into their room later that afternoon, Mei was folding her laundry.

Yuzu's stomach dropped at the sight of the raven-haired girl.

Her heart felt like it was ricocheting in her chest cavity, but Yuzu calmly walked to her side of the room. After hanging her purse on the back of her desk chair, she sat down on her bed. She started scrolling through her Instagram while sipping on the coffee that she got in a to-go cup at Denny's.

_Make up tutorials._

_Doug the Pug._

_K-pop boybands._

_Matsuri with a smirk, staring straight at the camera, with someone's hand cupping the side of her face tenderly._ Yuzu recognized that manicure with the turquoise accent nail. That was Harumi's hand.

_Crunchy ASMRs._

_More make up tutorials._

But Yuzu wasn't really seeing the stream of images and videos on her screen. Her eyes traveled up to the top of her phone to peek at her roommate who was currently putting away a stack of pastel cardigans into an open drawer.

Mei looked as cool as a cucumber. Like a placid lake. Totally unperturbed, like she didn't just spend last night getting rawed.

Yuzu screwed her eyes shut and made a frustrated noise in the back of her throat. That was Matsuri's words in her head, egging her on.

The sorority president ignored her random outburst, still looking serene as she KonMaried her sock drawer.

Yuzu was tired of acting cool. She took a deep breath. "Mei? Are we gonna talk about last night, or….?"

Mei's hand paused in midair for a second. She placed the neatly folded pair of socks in the drawer before pushing it closed. She turned around to face Yuzu, defiantly lifting her chin, but couldn't quite meet Yuzu's emerald eyes.

Mei's tone matched her miffed expression when she replied, "Yeah sure, we can talk about it. You came home drunk. Completely disregarding what I've said to you about not coming into this room unless you're completely sober. You went against our roommate contract that we set up in the beginning of the semester."

"Okay?" Yuzu's eyes widened. "But what about the part where," she paused, her face pinching into a frown. "We had sex? Are you seriously going to ignore that?!"

"Keep your voice down," Mei hissed, her eyes darting to the closed door of their room. "No, I'm not ignoring that fact that we….did stuff. What the heck do you want me to say, Yuzu? You came home white-girl wasted, you stripped naked, and then crawled into my bed!"

"I wasn't white-girl wasted!" Yuzu protested. "Yeah, I was a bit drunk. That was….yeah. I'm sorry! But…I just thought you wanted a cuddle."

Mei rolled her eyes. She started to turn away, like she was done with the conversation.

"But what happened after, that wasn't all me. It seemed to me you were a pretty willing participant," Yuzu insisted.

She hated having to press Mei like this, but it was going to drive her insane if they didn't talk about it. She wasn't going to spend the rest of the school year as Mei's roommate and pretend that last night never happened. No  _sir_. Mei might be fine living in denial, but she wasn't a fan of the neighborhood.

Yuzu stood up and walked towards her roommate, who regarded her warily. She felt like she was cornering a frightened animal. Although after last night, she knew very well that this little kitty cat had  _claws._

An image of Mei sinking her fingernails into her shoulder as she tightened around her fingers surfaced to the front of her mind. Along with the sweet moans and she was able to coax from her roommate's mouth.

Yuzu almost facepalmed herself. _Not the time to be fantasizing, brain! Focus!_

"I'm not saying it wasn't consensual," Mei retorted. "But what happened last night was the combination of your inebriation and my own sleep-deprived state, which led to some inappropriate behavior that we wouldn't have engaged in, had we been in our normal state of mind."

Yuzu crossed her arms and leveled Mei with an  _are you fucking kidding me_  stare. "Mei. We went several rounds."

A tic broke in Mei's eye. "I guess you were really drunk and I was really loopy."

"You came like three times."

"Yuzu!" she snapped angrily, but the red flush that appeared on her neck and cheeks weakened the effect the brunette was shooting for. "Drop it. We had drunk sex. It was a huge mistake, it's been acknowledged, but I just want to move past this. "

Yuzu's heart clenched at the words. She had braced herself for this reaction from Mei, but hearing the girl state it out loud –  _stung._ Still, she managed to appear neutral as she stared at Mei, daring her to go on and explain herself.

Mei stared back, a haughty expression on her face. Internally, she was a fucking mess. Her insides felt like jelly, and her pulse was rabbit-kicking in her throat.

Because Yuzu had a disbelieving expression on her face, like the blonde knew she was full of shit. Mei couldn't handle Yuzu's doubt, her skepticism. Panic was rising in her stomach from being confronted about last night. Her emotions were thrashing wildly in her chest, and she needed to shut down this conversation immediately. She reached for the one thing that she knew would end it.

"I'm not gay, Yuzu," she asserted, with a little too much force than was necessary. "I'm not into girls."

Yuzu blinked, her expression morphing into a look of surprise. "Right. Not gay," she parroted. "Totally straight."

"On top of that, we're sorority sisters. Sleeping with each other isn't exactly one of the recommended activities to strengthen the bonds of sisterhood as outlined in the Chi Theta Sigma handbook."

"I'm aware of that."

"That's why it won't happen again." Mei swallowed around the bitter lump in her throat. It tasted like an extra-large helping of gay panic.

"Of course it's not gonna happen again. Last night," Yuzu snatched her coffee and pocketed her phone, "Was a big mistake." She walked out of their room and slammed the door .

* * *

Yuzu was an anger ball pacing the living room of the Chi Theta Sigma house.

She stopped pacing and looked at the photo gallery of all the sorority sisters on the wall. At the very top row of framed headshots, Mei Aihara's smiling face looked down on her.

Mei's raven hair framed her porcelain face like midnight waves lapping against a white sand beach. A demure smile graced her lips and there was a confident glint in those amethyst eyes. A string of pearls adorned the elegant column of her neck.

So effortlessly gorgeous. So perfect. It was fitting that her photo was highest up on the wall. Mei would always be out of her reach. That's basically what Mei was saying in between the lines, right? She was out of her league.

Yuzu huffed, tearing her eyes away from the sorority president's picture.

_Man, I'm done with this._

Yuzu straightened her spine.  _I've totally been pussy whipped over Mei since the day I met her. But no more. She can't have sex with me and then turn around and treat me like dirt._

It was in tatters over the last few months, but Yuzu still had  _some_  pride. She wasn't going to let her roommate walk all over her.

It was a tall order considering she was knuckle-deep inside Mei less than twelve hours ago, but Yuzu was on a mission to get over her hopeless infatuation with her roommate, stat.

Maybe it meant sitting in a dark corner for hours listening to Lana del Rey.

Maybe it meant eating several pints of Ben n' Jerry's while watching  _How to be Single, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind_ , and  _Eat Pray Love_.

Maybe it meant hitting the Frat Row party circuit extra hard for the next few weekends.

Maybe it meant having a marathon video game session with Matsuri and eating cheap pizza.

No matter which coping mechanisms she used, she was going to come out of this all right.

She was going to rise from the ashes of this Mei Aihara debacle like a beautiful, powerful, blond phoenix.

Yuzu stared at her own picture in the collage of photos. Her open, cheerful face stared back at her.

_I'll be the perfect sorority sister to Mei. The one she wants me to be. But the disaster lesbian who's pining and longing for a straight girl – that girl is gone._

* * *

Since Yuzu wasn't in the habit of severe emotional repression like her roommate, she fully acknowledged that this whole thing with Mei was a big gay heartbreak. She threw herself into the task of getting over a rejection, blasting through the cliché activities for getting over someone like the heroine in a romcom.

Yuzu was doing okay, all things considered.

Mei, on the other hand, was experiencing the opposite.

"I think we should draw more cookies and hearts here," Paige pointed to both sides of the poster they were working on. "And definitely red glitter on the hearts."

Mei nodded in agreement at her sorority sister. She thought the design of the poster for their cookie delivery service was a little cheesy, but Paige was the Marketing Chair, so whatever.

Standing shoulder to shoulder, the two girls continued working on a corner table in the study room.

"Hey the poster looks great!" Yuzu's voice rang out behind her, and Mei twitched in surprise.

Yuzu leaned closer to peer at the poster, and Mei was incredibly aware of how close the blonde's face was to her  _neck._

_Why is she so close!_

Her skin tingled.

"I really like the drawing of the Chi delivery girl holding a huge cookie," Yuzu complimented, turning her head to smile sweetly at Paige.

Mei felt heat creep up on her neck, in addition to the tingles. Her gaze slid down to Yuzu's lips. Yuzu's full, pouty lips.

Those lips had kissed Mei's neck, bitten her until she moaned like she was in a porno.

An ache between her legs made itself known at the memory of Yuzu's teeth grazing her throat.

"Uh…what?" Yuzu asked.

The blonde's face confused face came back into focus.

"Do I have something on my face or something?"

"No." Mei grabbed a black marker and started drawing on a corner of the poster. "I'm just drawing another delivery girl holding a giant cookie. Good idea."

"Great job, ladies. We're gonna do really well with the cookie sale." Yuzu walked out of the study room with a wave.

* * *

"Listen," Matsuri said in the tone that signaled she meant to drop some knowledge. "This is what you have to do to break through Mei's sexual repression and make her  _want_  you."

"Don't listen to her." Harumi rolled her eyes and pulled Matsuri by the shoulders towards her, so that the pink-haired girl wasn't leaning towards Yuzu being overbearing. "She thinks she's some sort of lesbian Casanova."

Yuzu giggled from Harumi's bed. "Oh I know."

Matsuri huffed. The two were sitting in a papasan chair in the middle of Harumi's room. "Hey, last time I checked, I'm the one who taps the ass of a super-hot sorority girl on the regular," she said smugly.

Yuzu nodded. "You've got a point. All right, give me your wisdom. How do I get Mei to want me?"

Pinching Matsuri's side, Harumi argued, "I only gave in to you because you wore me down. I didn't have the strength to fight you off anymore."

"You have to act like you don't care." Matsuri said with conviction. She was able to wriggle free of her girlfriend's grip and leaned towards Yuzu, elbows on her knees. "Like you don't care that you guys banged that one time."

"I mean, I've been trying to be cool," Yuzu said with a small shrug.

"Good. Just keep acting like you're totally good even if it never happens again. That kind of stuff drives girls crazy. Then she won't be able to stop thinking about it."

Yuzu took a deep breath and fiddled with the pillow on her lap. "Okay. I don't know why I'm taking your advice. I must be really desperate."

"Pfffft." Matsuri's pulled a face and pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "Bruh, have you seen my ride?" A smirk curled over her lip. "If anyone can teach you about pulling a girl way out of your league, it's me."

Harumi poked Matsuri in the ribs. "Don't tell her Mei's out of her league," she chided. "And don't call me your  _ride._  You're such a little shit. And you didn't pull me from anywhere."

Matsuri laid back on Harumi's chest and turned her head to peer up at Harumi's hazel eyes, an impish grin on her lips. "Bagged you like some groceries."

* * *

"I don't care if it makes me a basic bitch, but all I'm getting from Starbucks are pumpkin spice lattes from now until December." Yuzu took a sip of her coffee and theatrically closed her eyes to prove her love of the seasonal drink to Mei. "Mmmmm. It's the taste of fall."

Despite herself, a smile quirked Mei's mouth. "It's the taste of a chemical shitstorm, Yuzu. There's no actual pumpkin in that coffee."

Yuzu tsked. "Well, this fall-flavored chemical shitstorm is  _delicious._ " She shrugged and walked towards her closet. "I probably love it so much because pumpkin spice lattes aren't really a thing back home. It's hard to get into fall-themed stuff when it's like sunny and hot every day in SoCal, you know?"

From her knees on the floor in front of the closet, Yuzu pulled out a fuzzy burgundy sweater and held it up to show Mei. "Like wearing oversized sweaters like these! They're so cozy and when you're outside in the autumn chill it's like being wrapped in a warm hug!" Yuzu smiled brightly and rubbed her face on the fuzzy material.

Mei groaned inwardly.  _Dammit. Why is she so freakin cute?_

"Sweater weather is a pretty nice feature of living in the Midwest," Mei conceded softly as she watched her roommate, idly thinking about how nice it would feel to nuzzle her face into that sweater as Yuzu cuddled her, on a couch, as they sipped warm beverages, a green tea for her, and Yuzu could have that atrocious pumpkin spice latte monstrosity…

When the blonde crossed her arms over her torso and gripped the bottom hem of her shirt, Mei spun away in her swivel chair.

She kept her back turned as Yuzu changed into the sweater, her spine rigid, muscles tense.

This was just one other thing that was driving her crazy. Yuzu changing her clothes in their room. Yuzu in various stages of undress, like in the mornings when the blonde would roll out of bed or get ready for class.

She would always avert her eyes the second she saw Yuzu without her shirt on, walking out of their en suite bathroom after a shower in just her jeans and bra. Looking at her felt  _wrong_ , it felt  _dangerous_. It would always make her stomach burn.

But inevitably her eyes would trail back to Yuzu's form, like a magnetic pull.

Mei would only stealthily glance at her half-dressed roommate when the girl was toweling her hair dry or was looking at something else. She would always time her secret stares just right.

Except for this time. Her gaze lingered on Yuzu who was pulling on the sweater a little too long, a little too intensely.

Yuzu's head popped through the neck hole of the sweater and their eyes met.

Mei looked away hastily, and she prayed the heat she felt on her face wasn't manifesting into an actual blush.

Yuzu rose from the floor and shouldered her purse. "All right, catch you later."

Mei glanced back at Yuzu, who smirked at her.

"Have fun at the haunted hayride." Mei cleared her throat and started shuffling the papers on her desk. "They have really good apple cider and donuts there too."

"You sure you don't wanna come?."

"Maybe next time. Thanks for inviting me."

Yuzu left their room with a wave.

After a couple of minutes, Mei went to the window and watched Yuzu and a bunch of people pile into a black Escalade in front of their house. By the time they got to Happy Meadow Farms, it would be dark and cold. Mei felt a pang in her chest when she pictured Yuzu cuddling up next to someone as they rode in the hayride under the autumn night sky.

Sighing, Mei walked back to her desk.

* * *

It was a Tuesday afternoon and the girls of Chi Theta Sigma were sitting in the grass at the Oval, watching the marching band practice for the big game. Their football team had made it to a bowl game, and the whole campus was abuzz with excitement for this Saturday.

"Which bowl game are we playing again?" Himeko asked as she shifted her crossed legs. She didn't like watching football, nor did she understand the rules. But she went to the associated activities anyway because she felt like she needed to be more social.

"Um, I think we're playing in the Citrus Bowl?" Harumi said tentatively. She didn't follow college sports much either. She went back to playing with Matsuri's hair, whose head was in her lap.

"Isn't there an Orange Bowl too?"

"Yeah," replied Yuzu, who actually knew football. "They're different. The Citrus Bowl is in Orlando and the Orange Bowl is in Miami."

With an air of practiced disinterest, Mei watched Yuzu explain NCAA conferences to the girls sitting in their picnic blanket, clearly knowledgeable about the subject. She probably learned that stuff from her time in the cheer team when she was at UCLA. It always caught her off guard when she discovered a previously unknown piece of information about Yuzu. A little thrill always accompanied these discoveries, and she would file away the information, to be turned over in her mind later. She was studiously creating a profile of her roommate in her mind, and she was putting it together piece by piece.

The picture that was emerging was something of an enigma. Behind her outward appearance of beautiful, fashion-obsessed California Barbie was an incredibly kind, warm-hearted, and  _good_ person. Yuzu was the friendliest and most helpful person in their whole sorority, someone who  _actually_  embodied their definition of sisterhood. She acted like an airhead, but she was in fact very astute. Yuzu was also one of those very rare people who felt at ease in her own skin, thus exuding this confidence that was  _captivating_. And she also smelled really good and her skin was so soft, and the sounds she made…

"Yo, Mei. Look who's coming over here. Mr. Loverboy." Matsuri's derisive tone broke through her reverie.

Mei glanced up and saw Amamiya across the green. With his suit jacket slung over his shoulder, dark sunglasses, and Italian leather shoes, he looked like he was a male model on a catwalk instead of the youngest Associate Professor at the Business College in between his classes.

Matsuri, that insufferable brat, continued her taunting.

"Are you still going to play hard to get with Mr. Amamiya, Mei? What excuse are you going to give him this time? Or are you finally gonna go out with him?"

The sound of Matsuri's voice felt like her nerves were being raked over broken glass. To make matters worse, Amamiya was coming closer, and she hadn't yet come up with a diplomatic way to make him understand that she would rather swim through hot garbage than date him.

Someone poked her gently on her side. Looking around, Mei saw that it was Yuzu.

"He looks super fine," Yuzu said with a wide grin, a playful glint in her emerald eyes. "He was the president of Sigma Pi when he was in undergrad, right?"

"Yeah," she mumbled, looking away. She didn't want to talk to Yuzu about him.  _Especially_  not about him. Nervous energy started to itch her muscles, so she rose from her sitting position on the blanket.

"I'd tap that." Yuzu looked up at her and winked.

Mei's stomach clenched uncomfortably. She whirled away from Yuzu before the lump fully formed in her throat.

* * *

Mei was woken up by the piercing sound of a ringing phone in the middle of the night. She peeled her eyes open to the pitch dark of her room.

Groaning, she turned over and stretched out her hand towards the nightstand. She started patting around for her phone, a whispered  _shit_ coming from her mouth when she heard something knock over to the floor. At least it wasn't the glass of water.

 _Ring. Ring. Ring._  The sound felt like it was drilling into her skull, and she cursed whoever was calling at this hour.

Her coordination wasn't the best because her whole body was still heavy with sleep, but Mei's fingers finally closed around her phone. Bringing it to her ear, she mumbled a groggy "Hello."

"Heeeeey Mei."

The sound of Yuzu's voice sent a rush of adrenaline through her veins, and in an instant Mei was wide awake.

"Yuzu? What…why are you calling me? What time is it?"

There was a frustrated mewl from the other line. "Look, I need to talk to you about your rules."

Mei could tell that Yuzu had been drinking by the sound of her voice. But that in itself wasn't surprising. She knew that Yuzu was going to a party with a several of their sisters when they all left earlier. And it was a Saturday night, of course Yuzu would be drinking.

"What are you talking about? What rules?"

"Your rule that I can't come home until I'm not drunk no more!"

Mei's eyebrows furrowed. "Okay? What about it?"

"Well," Yuzu sighed, "I'm still kind of drunk right now, not like, super drunk, just a bit tipsy. Okay, a couple shots over tipsy. Anyway, yeah, still maybe sorta drunk….but I'm tired and I want to come home."

The sad, pitiful tone at the end of Yuzu's rambling tugged at Mei's heart. The brunette wasn't sure if Yuzu was just playing it up to get her to agree, but damn, it was effective. She felt her heart ache when she imagined Yuzu at a house party somewhere, uncomfortable and frustrated, and just wanted to come  _home._

_Home to me._

_Yuzu would rather be back in here in our room with me, rather than out in a drunken college party._

A warm, pleasant feeling spread in her chest at the thought. Oh, she could dream, couldn't she? In the privacy of her own mind, she can entertain the silliest fantasies.

"So whaddaya think? Can you cut me some slack just for tonight, pleeeeeease."

Mei tsked into the phone. She didn't want to sound like she was going easy on her little rule-breaker, so she said sternly, "All right, fine. But just for tonight. Just this once."

"You're the best, Mei."

"So when will you be back?"

"Ummmnot not sure yet. I'm still working on that part."

Mei frowned, apprehension tickling the back of her mind. "What do you mean you're still working on it?"

"Well," Yuzu drew out the word until it tapered off into a sigh. "I came here with Kayla, Sasha, and Blaire, but they left."

"What?" Mei propped herself up on one elbow. "Why did they leave without you?"

A blast of dance music drowned the first few seconds of Yuzu's reply. "—fighting again. And I think Kayla thought I wanted to stay here because I was talking to Benjie but I wasn't really, I was telling him to get the fuck off, he kept bugging me to shotgun this blu—"

"Who is this Benjie?" Mei snapped, cutting her off. The apprehension was now a prickly heat racing down her spine.

"Oh…. you know, Benjie. The one who won the ice cream eating contest?"

"So he's bothering you? And you're there alone?" Anxiety coiled in her gut, dark and heavy.

"I mean," Yuzu paused, and thumping bass burst through the phone again. "I'm not like in any danger…I can fight him off, I think. He's just a little pushy…he really wants to get me drunk or high or whatever."

Mei hated the worry that she could hear bleeding through Yuzu's voice, despite her reassurances. Something else was rising up in her, different emotions clawing in her chest cavity. Something like fear, something like jealousy, a lot like anger.

"But don't worry, I'm not falling for that shit. Anyway, I'm gonna try to find someone who I can catch a ride with. Might take a while cus this party is lit and—"

"Stay in the living room. Find some people who aren't drunk and sit with them." Mei swung her legs off the side of the bed and strode to her dresser, navigating the dark space from memory. "Give me fifteen minutes."

"Uh, what?"

"I'm coming to get you. Text me the address." Mei held the phone to her ear and with the other hand opened a drawer and pulled out what she could feel was a pair of pants.

"No, no, no." Yuzu's voice pitched higher with each word. "I didn't call you cuz I wanted you to come get me –"

"Yuzu. Just text me the address."

"—I just wanted to know if you—"

Mei ended the call and stuffed the phone in her back jean pocket.

* * *

Less than 5 minutes later, Mei was tearing down Cedar Avenue in her Audi. There weren't many cars on the road because of the late hour, but she still wasn't going as fast as she wanted to.

As she white-knuckled through the dark streets towards the south side of town, she had a moment to reflect on why she was speeding to a house party in the middle of the night.

The truth was that Mei couldn't bear the thought, the idea, the possibility, of Yuzu being in a threatening situation. A compromising situation.

 _In a party full of drunk guys trying to drag her off to some dark corner, their hands on_ …

The bottom of Mei's stomach dropped away at that train of thought, and she pressed down on the gas, pulling a smooth roar from the V8 engine.

By the time Mei arrived at the house, anxiety had gnawed through her stomach and was burning in her chest. She did 50 on a 35 all the way here. Glancing at the digital clock on the dash, it had been 14 minutes since she talked to Yuzu .  _Surely nothing happened to her in that time._

She threw the car into park and hopped out, not caring in the slightest that she double parked behind a Jeep Wrangler in the driveway.

The house was a large, nondescript 2-story building with a symmetrical façade and double-hung windows with black shutters. Mei could see the bodies of partiers jam-packed through the row of windows on the ground floor. There were more people congregated on the lawn in front of the house, holding Solo cups. The night air thudded with the heavy bass of the party anthem being blasted from inside the house. She guessed that within an hour the cops would get called for a noise complaint.

Mei had one thought in mind, and that was to remove her sister from the premises. Adrenaline was coursing in her veins as she pushed through the throng. People called out her name as she strode towards the front door, but she ignored them all. She shoulder-checked a lanky ginger who smelled strongly of pot when he didn't move out of her way fast enough as she entered the house and into the living area.

Every piece of furniture in the living room looked like it was pulled out of a dumpster or picked up from the curb. Flopped over ratty couches were college kids in various stages of inebriation. Bottles, cans and plastic cups covered the surface of every coffee table randomly scattered throughout the room.

Mei spotted her roommate sitting on the arm of a light brown couch that was probably a cream color once upon a time. Yuzu didn't look blackout drunk; she was talking and laughing with a small group of people congregated around the couch. Sure enough, there was a boy hovering over Yuzu. Brown curly hair under a snapback, a tight cotton shirt that showed off how jacked he was, both hands in his pockets, watching Yuzu intently – this must be Benjie.

Relief at seeing Yuzu all right was overtaken by the rage caused by the asshole that was messing with her. Clenching her jaw so hard that her temples throbbed, she strode towards her roommate.

Yuzu looked up as she approached from across the room. "Mei!"

Everyone in the little group turned to look at her. Benjie narrowed his red-rimmed eyes.

"Let's go," Mei said without preamble, in a tone that sounded like an order rather than an invitation.

Yuzu's eyebrows raised slightly, but she made to grab her things on the coffee table.

"Whoa whoa whoa." Benjie raised his hand to hover a few inches from Yuzu's arm. "Where you goin, babe?"

The urge to shove the fucker was strong. Mei knew this wouldn't be very effective of course. The dude was built like a linebacker.  _I bet smashing a beer bottle to his head would work though._

"My ride's here. I'm going home, Benjie." Yuzu looked into her clutch to see if she had everything.

Benjie stepped into Yuzu's personal space and whined, "Aww, c'mon don't go yet. My buddies set up a fire pit outside and they're getting the wood ready, it'll be real cool. I'll take you home –"

Yuzu took a step back from the boy, but before he could surge forward, Mei's palm connected with Benjie's pec with a slap. Her outstretched arm was locked at the elbow, preventing the boy from taking another step.

"No. Yuzu's not going anywhere with you." Mei's voice was hard as steel. "She's leaving with me right now."

Benjie's face twisted into a frown. He slurred, "What, are you her mom or somethin'?"

"No, I am not her mom."

Benjie stepped back and crossed his arms. "Oh I'm sorry," he said mockingly. "Is she your boo then?"

"She's my sister," Mei said loudly, making several heads turn. She grabbed the hand of said sister and led her away from the group.

* * *

 _Well that was intense_.

Yuzu obediently followed Mei out of the house, allowing herself to be pulled by the hand.

She certainly didn't expect Mei to show up looking all mad and then strong-arm Benjie. Her roommate looked hella intimidating, but also in that intimidating in a hot  _as fuck_  way. That look always sent a thrill down her spine.

It just wasn't fair, that even when mad, Mei managed to look stupidly hot. Yuzu was pretty sure her roommate had just rolled out of bed less than fifteen minutes before, but when she walked into that grimy living room, heads turned to look at stare at her. Long straight hair the color of midnight cascading down her back, wearing a black double rider leather jacket, that insanely beautiful face… Mei Aihara could walk into any room draw all eyes on her. She was just that stunning.

"Are you mad at me or something?" Yuzu directed the question to Mei's back. She expected Mei to let go of her hand once they exited the crowded house, but the brunette kept her grip. She felt silly admitting it, but it felt  _nice_  to hold Mei's hand. If you ignore the fact that Mei was highly agitated. Her voice came out in a whine. "I told you I wasn't asking you to come out here and get me!"

Mei snapped behind her shoulder, "Why, so that Neanderthal could get you even drunker and you could go and sit by a stupid fire?"

"Why are you so pissed? What did I do?"

Mei stopped and whipped around to face her. "You know, it's really stupid to be out here drinking and partying with a bunch of people you don't know, full of guys who just want to get you drunk, without your sisters! That was incredibly dangerous. God, I can't believe—"

Yuzu yanked her hand from Mei's grip. She was tired of Mei talking to her like she had no sense. Like she was a child. She was a goddamn adult. And honestly? A lot of times Mei didn't act so mature herself, regardless of her regal bearing. Fuck that noise.

"Geez, get off my dick, Mei! I wasn't acting like a dummy. It's not like I was wasted, I was aware of my surroundings the whole time. I always get my own drinks and watch them all night. And yes, when the girls left I started working on leaving too. I called you to say I wanted to come home, remember?" Yuzu looked up at Mei with the strongest glare she could muster.

Mei moved forward purposefully, invading her personal space.

"So you're saying I had nothing to worry about?" Mei's voice was as sharp as the look in her eyes. Her face was so close to hers that they were practically nose to nose. Was Mei trying to intimidate her by…closeness? Was she playing a game of chicken? Because she wasn't going back down.

"Yes, that's what I'm saying," Yuzu confirmed. She tilted her face up, bringing their faces even closer. She couldn't help it, whenever Mei's body got close to hers, there was always this  _pull._  It took conscious effort to resist it, and at the moment she didn't have it in her to try. "I'm a big girl. I can go to a party without my sorority sister having to rescue me."

"You sounded pretty worried when you called me," Mei murmured, her eyes flicking down to her lips. "That's why I came."

Yuzu tried, and failed, to stop herself from parting her lips under Mei's heavy gaze. "Oh, really," she breathed.

"Yes, really. I could hear it in your voice on the phone. You didn't want to be there anymore." Mei said triumphantly. She put hands on her hips, acting like she had just won the argument.

Yuzu rolled her eyes, knowing full well she was doing it to rile Mei up. The air between them felt charged, thrumming with something dangerous. The logical, non-drunk part of her brain knew it wasn't advisable, but Yuzu wanted to keep pushing Mei's buttons. She wanted to feed this heat swirling around them.

"Oh, Mei. This isn't my first rodeo. I can handle a handsy guy or two. Why don't you tell me the real reason you got up in the middle of the night to come get me," Yuzu taunted sweetly. Her hand came up and traced Mei's jaw with a manicured index finger.

Mei frowned, but she leaned even closer to Yuzu, as if craving the blonde's touch. Her own hand slowly trailed up Yuzu's thigh and over the curve of her hip. "I came to drag home my sorority sister who parties too much."

Yuzu bit down on her lip when she felt Mei's hand stroke her side. It felt provocative. Her dress was very tight and she could feel the heat from Mei's palm. It wasn't hard to imagine the taller woman stroking her bare skin. Was this what Mei wanted? Was Mei trying to provoke her, tease her? Because she could play that game.

A smirk spread over Yuzu's face. "I think you're just mad at the idea that someone would have their hands on me."

Mei stilled.

 _Oh shit._ She had gone too far. Said the wrong thing. Yuzu swallowed, an apology forming on her lips.

Mei grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the back of the house, dark with shadows.

She felt her back hit a wall, and the next second, Mei's mouth crashing into hers. The kiss was hungry and possessive. Someone moaned, most likely her. Her hands came up and grabbed the front of both sides Mei's leather jacket, pulling the taller woman closer.

Her heartbeat thumped in time with the deep bass of the music from inside the house. Mei had her pinned against the wall, hands running up and down her sides, squeezing her waist and down to her hips. The kiss was bruising, and she could feel Mei's anger fueling it. It was clear that this was her roommate's response to her taunt about being jealous. She already knew her lips were going to be swollen when Mei drew bottom lip into her mouth and sucked on it sharply.

Knowing that she was partly the cause, Yuzu wanted to soothe Mei's anger and coax her into a slightly gentler kiss. She cupped her Mei's face in her hands and rubbed her thumbs against her cheeks. Licking into Mei's mouth, she engaged their tongues in a languid dance. Pouring all of her passion and desire into the kiss, she meant to show Mei that she was the only person she wanted to be with in this whole party. The only person she wanted to come home with.

It worked. Mei's kiss turned less punishing, and soon they were simply relishing the feeling of their mouths finally being reunited. It felt just as good as they both remembered, from that Halloween night weeks ago.

Mei kissed a trail down to her neck, and Yuzu angled her head to give the brunette access. She gasped when Mei placed a sucking kiss on her neck, arching into the contact. As she was leaning into the almost-bite, she dimly registered that Mei's hips were rocking gently into her between her thighs. A pleased moan fell from her lips as she wrapped her arms around Mei's shoulders, wanting to get even closer. Wanting more contact.

It was only when a thigh found its way between her legs and pressed up, pushing a needy whine out of her, did she snap out of her lust-fueled daze. They were furiously making out in an alley behind a drunken house party, and things were starting to get heated.

"Mei," Yuzu gasped as the woman palmed her breast and squeezed. "H-hold on."

Her roommate didn't seem to hear her, because she simply kept kneading her breast. Then Mei brushed her thumb across her nipple, and she moaned loudly.

Yuzu drew in a few heavy breaths and tried to bat away the arousal churning in her center from her sorority sister playing with her nipple. With difficulty, she gripped Mei's wrist and whispered in her ear. "Babe, stop. We can't do this here. Let's take this back to our room."

Mei pulled back slightly to gaze at her, and Yuzu almost swooned at the sight. Her straight black hair was mussed and  _her_  red lipstick smeared on the side of her mouth. She had a hungry look in her face that sent shivers down Yuzu's spine.

The taller woman lowered her thigh from between her legs and removed her hand from her boob. Mei tugged down the hem of her form-fitting dress so that it wasn't riding up her legs anymore.

"Come on." Mei took her hand again and led her towards the car.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? : )


	6. Under Lover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our girls grapple with the L word.

The ride back home to their sorority house was a quiet, tense affair. If Yuzu wasn't sitting in a fog of alcohol and pent-up arousal, she would have described the car ride as  _awkward._ But as it were, she felt like she was going to vibrate out of her skin.

Sitting in the leather passenger seat of Mei's Audi, Yuzu noted this was her first time in her roommate's car. They had been living together for a few months now, but they never really went anywhere together with just the two of them.

And now here she was, sitting in the opulent interior of Mei's luxury vehicle, being driven home from a party in the middle of the night. And unless she was way off base with reading the mood out in the alley, once they got back to their room, they were going to  _fuck._

A shiver went down Yuzu's spine. Taking in a shuddering breath to steady her nerves, she shifted uncomfortably in her seat, tugging at the hem of her skirt self-consciously.

Without saying a word or taking her eyes off the road, Mei reached across the middle console and placed her hand on Yuzu's thigh.

The touch was warm, grounding, but also  _exciting._

Mei didn't try to grope her or tease her or feel her up; her touch was a silent order of  _just wait._

Yuzu swallowed and looked out the window, barely seeing the darkened streets of their college town rush past in a blur. She thought about the recent round of tension between them, the slightly uncomfortable atmosphere that permeated the room anytime they were alone in it together.

Riding in the car with Mei's hand possessively touching her leg, racing towards their sorority house, it felt like they had always been two trains trapped on a collision course with each other.

* * *

As soon as their bedroom door was closed, Mei pinned Yuzu against the nearest wall.

The kiss was rough and messy, full of scraping teeth and smacking lips, a complete departure from the atmosphere in the car. The brief pause in the car only seemed to feed the hunger between them, and when their bodies and mouths came together it ignited into flames.

Mei's hands were running up and down Yuzu's sides, feeling up her hips and waist and the curve of her ass. Having denied her own desires for so long, Mei couldn't get enough of these feminine curves under her hands. She wanted to taste every inch of delectable skin under her lips.

Pinned to wall, Yuzu loved being ravished by her stoic roommate.  _Wow, maybe I should have called her drunk from a party weeks ago…_

Yuzu felt Mei's hands inch towards the inside of her thighs, and her head fell back against the wall in anticipation. She felt Mei's hot lips on her exposed throat, and she reached up to tangle her fingers on raven locks.

The hem of Yuzus' skirt was now hiked up around the waist. Mei pushed the crotch of Yuzu's soaked panties to the side, and the action was so erotic, so absolutely filthy, it sent a shuddering curl of need through her belly.

When Mei sank two fingers inside her, they both groaned. Loudly. Yuzu with relief from the itch biting her insides; Mei from the elation and wonder of finally experiencing something she had been dreaming about.

Yuzu scrabbled for purchase against the front of Mei's leather jacket as the brunette started to stroke her, her hands fisting against the lapels. She felt like her knees were going to collapse under her.  _It feels so damn good, I'm getting close._

She had enough propriety to be embarrassed at how close she already was.

She bit down on her lip, trying to use the sting in her mouth to counter the billowing pleasure threatening to overtake her.

_I can't blow my load when we've hardly started…_

_I'm not a two-pump chump!_

"Bed," Yuzu panted, managing to give Mei a shove as she pushed off the wall.

Mei crashed their lips back together as they start the precarious journey across their dark room to a horizontal surface.

Yuzu pushed the leather jacket from her roommate's shoulders. As they each yanked on a sleeve, Mei bumped her hip on the edge of a desk, tipping a cup over, sending pens to roll onto the floor.

Mei hissed in pain but didn't pause, continuing to shuffle forward as best she could, with Yuzu frantically unbuttoning her jeans and pulling them down. She almost tripped as she tried to walk with her pants pooled around her knees, but Yuzu was making it hard to walk and kiss at the same time when she was pawing all over her front.

They backed into a dresser, and a picture frame knocked over, followed by several cosmetic bottles. Mei pinned Yuzu again, bracketing the shorter woman against the wood with her arms on either side.

The blonde allowed Mei to scatter kisses along her collarbone for several moments before repeating her earlier demand. "Bed."

Mei grabbed her hips and yanked her backwards. She fell on her butt when the back of her knees hit the edge of the bed. A second later, her lap was full of Yuzu as the blonde crawled on top of her and straddled her hips.

* * *

Yuzu woke up to soft sheets and a naked Mei Aihara wrapped around her. The brunette was molded to her bare back with an arm across her midsection. Their legs were tangled together, and her butt was tucked into the curve of Mei's hip.

Burying her head into the pillow, Yuzu breathed in Mei's scent. It smelled heavenly. She shifted her hips minutely, and even smiled at the satisfying ache she found there.

Mei stirred behind her, making a small noise as she nuzzled into the blonde's shoulder. She tightened her hold on the little spoon, pulling her in closer against her bent legs.

Yuzu could feel her heart sink as she felt Mei start to wake up. She wasn't dumb; she knew what was going to happen next. It stung, but she wasn't going to fool herself that last night had miraculously changed anything between them.

This was the morning-after of their  ** _third_**  drunken encounter, after all. She knew the drill. Mei will act like nothing happened, and when confronted, will lash out and/or distance herself.

Yuzu hated it. What she hated more was if given the next opportunity, she probably wouldn't say no.

When she was fairly sure that Mei had her eyes open and was staring at the back of her head, she propped herself up on one elbow. She grumbled, "I know, I know. I'm going."

As she reached for the edge of blanket so she could slip out of Mei's bed, she realized with horror that she was going to have added indignation of walking across their room  _naked._ She had no idea where her clothes were. She dimly remembered taking off her clothes like they were on fire last night.

_Fucking fantastic_.  _At least no one is here to see my walk of shame. Except the person who banged me, that is._

With a sigh, Yuzu moved towards the edge of the bed.

"No, stay," Mei whispered in a soft, plaintive tone. Her hand on Yuzu's shoulder carried the same sentiment.

Eyes wide and heart skipping in her chest, Yuzu sank back against Mei. The dark haired woman wrapped her arms around her once they went back to their previous position.

They slept until noon, after which they went downstairs and joined their sisters for brunch. Mei sat beside her at the long dining table, and even placed two Advil pills beside her plate for her headache.

* * *

Matsuri flicked her eyes away from the Mario Kart game just long enough to look at Yuzu walk into the living room of her house. "Hey. Did you bring the Cheetos?"

"Yeah. I had to go to a 7-Eleven because they didn't have the flaming hot kind in the two gas stations I went to," Yuzu complained as she plopped on the couch. She ripped open the bag and started munching on them as she watched Harumi and Matsuri race around the track as Peach and Daisy, respectively.

Matsuri crowed when she won the game. She reached into the Cheetos bag and scooped out a whole handful of the orange-colored puffs and then crammed it all in her mouth.

Harumi gave her a small glance of concern before she engaged Yuzu in conversation, catching up about their week and talking about sorority-related stuff.

Matsuri watched the two girls as she chewed on the mouthful of Cheetos.  _Well Yuzu seems extra bubbly today._  The blonde kept running her fingers through her hair, then tossing it. She also kept touching her own neck.

She narrowed her eyes.  _What's gotten into Barbie today?_

"You guys fucked again, didn't you?" Matsuri stated after she swallowed the last of the Cheetos in her mouth.

Yuzu gasped. "Matsuri! What the heck—"

"Don't act all demure with me. Let me guess, Mei did you this time. Well? How was it?" Matsuri smirked as she reached for another handful of Cheetos.

Yuzu thrust the bag towards Matsuri. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"10 over 10, would recommend?"

"No!"

"10 over 10, would bang again?"

"Harumi!" Yuzu screeched and slapped her fists on her thighs.

"Matsuri, stop it," her girlfriend warned.

"You're no fun." Matsuri rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the video game. "Okay, who wants to challenge the reigning champ?"

Yuzu distractedly reached for the controller, her brow furrowing. Before Matsuri could start the next game, she placed her hand over the pink-haired girl's controller. "Listen, you guys. Let me be serious for a second here. This thing with me and Mei— it's a secret. People can't know about it."

Matsuri pulled a face. "Why?"

"It's just," Yuzu worried her lip before continuing. "Back then… after uh, the first time, Mei was pretty adamant in saying she was straight. It's not like we talked about it, but I'm pretty sure she still thinks that. In any case, I don't think she wants her business to be put on blast."

Matsuri threw her head back. "Dammit! I just  _cannot_  when girls dive face first into pussy and then claim they're straight. I mean, is being a lesbian really the worst thing in the world?"

"Matsuri, you can't talk about this, okay?" Yuzu pleaded. "It wouldn't be fair to Mei. You can't just out people like that. And more importantly, she's a sorority president. Of which I am a member _._ I'm sure she will freak out about that too. It doesn't look good."

"You're worried about the optics of two sisters from the most prestigious sorority banging each other," Matsuri restated with derision.

Harumi put her hand on Yuzu's knee. "She won't say anything," reassured the brunette. "Don't worry. We won't say a word to anyone. Your secret is safe with us."

"Thanks." Yuzu gave her friend a tremulous smile.

Harumi drew the blonde in for a tight hug. When they drew back, she said, "It's going to be fine. We're here for you, Yuzu."

"Okay but for real though, cus Harumi and I have bets on this…who tops?" Matsuri quipped.

* * *

Mei was staring at the open pages of her textbook but she wasn't seeing a thing.

She had gone to study at the Business College library while waiting for her Speculative Markets class, but her thoughts kept drifting to a certain blond sorority girl. Truth be told, she couldn't think of anything else.

There were moments of disbelief.  _How did we end up having sex_ _ **again**_ _?_

After the first time on Halloween night, she had convinced herself that it was a fluke. It was a one-time thing. Yuzu was drunk, and she was  _weak_. Yuzu was just too damn tempting in that ridiculous costume, and anyone with a pulse would have succumbed when the blonde crawling on top of them.  _Yeah._

So she refused to deal with the implications of her actions. She shut down Yuzu's attempts to talk about it, and she was sure the blonde hated for it. Good. She deserved it.

She buried the memories from that night deep into her subconscious. She compartmentalized the out of control attraction she felt for Yuzu into a neat little box and locked it away.

Or at least she tried to.

_Who am I kidding?_

Whenever Yuzu was near her she would remember how their naked bodies felt pressed against each other.

But she didn't mean for it to happen  ** _again._**

What was it about Yuzu that made her slip up like this? The blonde was like a splinter in her brain, and the more she picked at it, the deeper it lodged.

Mei screwed her eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her fingers.

_Okay. I can do this. No more. Not gonna happen again._

_For real this time._

Mei opened her eyes. With a new sense of determination, she went back to preparing for her next class.

She reached into her bookbag for her laptop. After feeling inside the main compartment of her tote, her stomach dropped.

Her laptop wasn't in her bag. She must have forgotten it in her room!

With her heart in her throat, she called the only person who could help her.

Yuzu answered after four rings. "Hello?"

"Yuzu," Mei breathed into the receiver of her iPhone. "Where are you? Are you at the house?"

* * *

Yuzu showed up at the Business Library with her laptop a little over half an hour later.

"You owe me big time." Yuzu grinned as she rocked up to Mei's table, holding up the Macbook Pro in her right hand. "It's a good thing I was still at home when you called. I was about to go to yoga."

Mei bit her lip as she watched the girl approach. Why did Yuzu have to look so gorgeous all the time? It was a Monday morning in the middle of semester and most of the other students on campus looked like death warmed over. But Yuzu's face beamed like a spring morning. Her smile was soft and inviting.

Her blond hair was swept up into a messy bun with a few golden tendrils tickling her neck. She was wearing her baby blue Chi Theta Sigma hoodie over black tights. The tights hugged every svelte curve of Yuzu's legs.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it." Mei said quietly after Yuzu sat on the chair across from her. "If I don't hand in this paper in class today, my prof will knock 50% off the grade for turning it in late."

"Wow. Harsh," Yuzu commented, drumming her manicured nails on the table.

They sat in silence at the table as Mei quickly opened up the document on her computer and wirelessly sent it to the nearest printer in the library.

When Mei returned with her printed paper to the desk, she sat next on the chair next to Yuzu. After a few long moments where a war waged in her mind, she touched Yuzu's hip with her fingertips.

"I can't stop thinking about it," Mei said quietly, the confession falling from her lips easier than she expected. Her fingertips brushed the tight material of Yuzu's tights, skimming down to the front of the blonde's thighs.

Yuzu angled her head towards Mei. "Me neither."

Mei watched her own fingers tracing small circles on Yuzu's thigh. It was easier to keep her eyes down, especially when she could feel the blonde's gaze on the side of her face.

"It keeps playing on a loop in my head. How you touched me," Yuzu said in a low voice right beside her ear, and she barely suppressed the shiver that wanted to rattle her spine.

"I really liked touching you," Mei said softly as her palm flattened against the front of Yuzu's thigh. Her heart was like a hummingbird in her chest. It should also have concerned her how easy these confessions were rolling off her tongue now. "I liked it a lot, even though I know we shouldn't be doing this."

Yuzu leaned forward and brushed her nose and mouth up the curve of the other girl's cheek. "Why not?" She dragged the tip of her tongue along the shell of Mei's ear, leaving a trail of wet fire. "You felt so good inside me."

This time, Mei actually shivered at the words, populating her mind with images from the other night, when the blonde was under her, open and wanting. She squeezed her thighs together as the familiar ache started to make itself known.

"It's just," Mei breathed, grasping at straws. "Not a good idea. We're sorority sisters. And I'm the president. I shouldn't do this to you."

Yuzu laid her hand on top of hers. The blonde's palm felt soft and cool against hers. Mei found the gesture unbearably sweet.

That is until Yuzu tugged her hand towards the waist band of her tights. The gesture didn't seem quite so sweet then.

Mei heart leapt into her throat as Yuzu guided her hand first up her stomach, then gently nudged it under the elastic hem of her pants.

"What are you doing?" Mei whispered fiercely. Her head snapped up and scanned the room in panic, even though she knew they were in a deserted part of the library. Only shelves and shelves of books were their witness.

"I'm showing you what you do to me."

Yuzu pushed her hand further down, and Mei was helpless to resist. She felt herself freefall through the sky, whooshing past billowing clouds, falling faster as she neared the ground; a demonstration of gravity.

The tips of Mei's fingers glided over Yuzu's bare slit, where she found her  _drenched._

"Ohhhh…" was all that came out of Mei's mouth. With an exploratory stroke, she felt Yuzu's clit was swollen and stiff.

"This is what you do to me." Yuzu leaned closer towards Mei's line of sight, forcing eye contact between them. "Just being near you makes me so  _wet_."

Mei stared at Yuzu's beautiful face, soaking up the neediness that tinged the blonde's expression. Her own mouth went dry, but there were several parts of her body that were also steadily getting wetter.

"What are you going to do about it? This is your fault," Yuzu's accusation didn't hold any real bite. Her voice was low and silky, and compelling Mei into  _action._

What  _was_  she going to do about it? She was Mei Aihara after all. President of Chi Theta Sigma. Top of the 2020 Business Honors class. Future CEO of Aihara Corporation. She didn't turn away from something that was her 'fault'. She was going to take responsibility.

"Let me take care of this for you then." She punctuated the statement by rolling Yuzu's clit, slick and hard against the pads of her fingers.

Yuzu's eyelashes fluttered; Mei watched her face intently.

Mei felt Yuzu open her legs wider under the table, making room for her hand to go lower.

Was she really going to do this? She had just enough functioning brain cells to realize that this was insane.

But one look at the smoldering expression on Yuzu's face, the pupils of her eyes blown wide, a dusting of pink on her cheeks, her mouth slightly parted—Mei was done for. She would follow Yuzu through the gates of hell if that's where the golden-haired siren beckoned.

Mei moved her hand lower and slipped inside Yuzu with her middle finger, meeting no resistance because the blonde was  _soaked._

Yuzu closed her eyes and her head fell back as Mei started stroking in and out. After a few moments, Mei slipped in a second finger, and a long, needy mewl spilled from the blonde's throat.

"Shhhh." Mei pressed her lips against Yuzu's temple. Affection surged in her chest as she watched the girl struggling to keep it together. She wanted to pleasure Yuzu until the blonde couldn't take it anymore but also wanted to soothe and encourage her through the challenge of keeping quiet in a public place as she got fingered. "You've got to be quiet. People will hear if you get too loud."

"O-okay." Yuzu's breath hiccupped as Mei's sank her fingers deeper inside the blonde, parting her slick, trembling walls.

"Good girl."

Yuzu gave a clipped whine at Mei's praise, her head falling forward on the taller woman's shoulder. Both hands fisted the front of Mei's shirt, and her hips rocked urgently against the brunette's hand, chasing the delicious friction from her fingers. Luckily, the wooden chair didn't creak. Much.

With Yuzu's panting breath puffing against her collarbone, Mei pumped her hand faster, overcome by the urge to see her roommate come undone. Mei wanted to see her  _wrecked._

Not slowing down her thrusts, Mei pressed the heel of her palm flat against Yuzu's mound. With the new angle, she was able to simultaneously plunge fingers into Yuzu's searing wet heat and put pressure on the blonde's clit.

Yuzu didn't need to be told what to do with a hand cupping her center. She rolled her hips forward to grind on Mei's palm, which immediately slicked over with her arousal.

Yuzu's thighs trembled at the surge of white hot pleasure that erupted from the added friction on her clit, tremors rippling through her upper leg muscles. Her breathing was coming in shuddering gasps. The need to keep quiet made the pressure building in her stomach even more intense, like a lid on pot about to boil over.

Mei could tell Yuzu was about to come when she tightened around her fingers, wrapping her digits in a silken vice. Her roommate was now moaning brokenly against her neck, but still low enough that only Mei could hear her.

"Oh my," Yuzu panted against her neck. "Oh my god, Mei, I'm going to—"

When she came, Yuzu slammed her legs close, clenching Mei's hand between her thighs. She tipped forward, slipping a little from her seat, falling against Mei's front.

Holding Yuzu against her with the arm that wasn't trapped between the blonde's legs, Mei could feel the orgasm surge through Yuzu like a cresting wave, arching her spine before crashing down to make its way through the rest of her body. She could feel every shudder, tremble, and panting breath.

Mei  _loved_  it.

She really, really love it. It felt incredible the first time she did it –- make Yuzu come. She had thought that it could just have been beginner's luck, the fact that she made Yuzu orgasm so hard she almost blacked out.

But now, as Yuzu peered up at her with lidded, glassy eyes, a light sheen of sweat on her brow, cheeks ruddy, looking thoroughly  _fucked_  – Mei discovered that she absolutely, completely, loved this feeling.

_I could get addicted to this._

_Oh boy._

* * *

_"_ _Amy, do you know how many girls are going to be up your vagina at Columbia next year? Every time I come to visit you, you're just going to be scissoring a different girl."_

_"_ _Dude, scissoring is not a thing._ _"_

_"_ _Don't knock it until you've tried it._ _"_

A laugh bubbled up from Harumi's throat as she watched two teenage girls ham it up on the 50-inch screen mounted on the wall above an entertainment console.

It was movie night at the Chi Theta Sigma house, and all the sisters were gathered in the large living room watching  _Booksmart_. The buddy comedy was a great choice for tonight's movie. The two main characters were best friends who spent their whole high school life trying to get into Ivy-league universities, only to find out that their slacker peers had all gotten in too.

_**Molly:** _ _"_ _You know what, my vag is stuffed with diplomas. Soon it's going to be stuffed with job offers, and glowing profiles, and commendations from the governor. So, while you guys were all studying AP hand jobs, I was kicking ass and busting curves. And I'm going to continue to do that at Yale next year. So, I like my choices, and wherever you three are next year, I hope you do too."_

_**Annabel: "** _ _I'm going to Yale too."_

_**Molly: "** _ _What?"_

_**Annabel: "** _ _I'm incredible at hand jobs, but I also got a fifteen-sixty on the SATs."_

Harumi laughed again, making the can of Dr. Pepper in her hand shake. Molly, the character in the movie who was the high school's student council president, reminded her of Mei Aihara. They were both so cut-throat about their academics that it was comical.

_Speaking of Mei…_

Not turning her head away from the TV screen, Harumi flicked her gaze to the other end of the enormous L-shaped couch. Yuzu and Mei were both under a red plaid blanket, a large bowl of popcorn on the blonde's lap.

_Well those two look super cozy. Since when did Mei share a blanket with anyone?_

Seriously, this was the first time Harumi had ever seen Mei sit this close to anyone during movie night. Yuzu was sort of leaning against Mei's side, her torso pressed up against the brunette's. It was dark in the room because the lights were out, but Harumi guessed that Mei's arm was wrapped around Yuzu's back.

_And now they're practically cuddling._

The movie continued.

All the other girls were engrossed in the movie, laughing their heads off every few minutes at the hilarious one-liners, but Harumi kept stealing glances at the two roommates on the edge of the couch. She was pretty sure she was the only person in the room watching the two and the unprecedented show of physical closeness from the sorority president.

It was normal for the sorority sisters to be cuddly and touchy with each other, but  _not_  with Mei Aihara.

The movie was nearing its climax. Two girls were awkwardly attempting to have sex in the bathroom of a graduation party.

_"_ _That's not the hole you think it is."_

Beside her, Sasha shrieked with laughter and second-hand embarrassment, but Harumi couldn't fully concentrate on what was happening on the screen. Yuzu was now fully leaning against Mei, her head on the sorority president's shoulder. Judging by the lumps under the blanket, their legs were tangled together. Mei even had a small smile on her face.  _They are legit snuggling. Oh my god._

"How can anyone confuse a vag for an asshole?" Paige protested loudly.

"Well, she's drunk and super nervous," Kayla said sagely, taking a slow sip of her Diet Coke. "It happens."

"Have  _you_  ever confused the two?"

A lively argument sprang up between the several of the girls about the plausibility of mistaking one hole for another, the movie forgotten for the moment.

Harumi watched Mei slowly extricate herself from the couch. The sorority president made a breezy comment about being tired and sleepy and that she was going to turn in. No one really paid much attention to her departure, the group still engaged in their debate.

After about five minutes, Yuzu got up and made a similarly vague excuse about needing to finish her report for class. After carelessly folding the blanket over the back of the couch, the blonde scampered away to her room.

* * *

Yuzu poured herself a cup of coffee and slipped into a bar stool at the kitchen island beside Harumi. Yawning, the blonde attempted to swipe one of Harumi's poptarts but the brunette swatted her hand.

"Did you do your report last night?"

Yuzu paused, her coffee cup inches from her lips. "Oh. Yeah. Totally got it done."

Harumi spun her barstool towards her friend and raised an eyebrow. "Does your report go by the name of Mei Aihara?"

"Shhhhh!" Yuzu pinched her friend's arm.

"Relax. No one's here." Harumi gestured to the empty kitchen with her half-eaten Poptart.

"Okay fine, fine. But for real Harumi, this needs to be on the down low."

"So…are you guys like in a relationship now?"

Yuzu gave a bark of laughter. "As if. Can you imagine Mei being in a relationship with  ** _me_**? I guess we're friends with benefits."

"Oh so now you're  _friends._ "

"Well, it seems like we're no longer enemies," Yuzu said thoughtfully, tracing the rim of her coffee mug with her finger. "She's stopped giving me hateful looks."

"And now she just gives you orgasms."

That earned a shriek and a sharp poke in the ribs from Yuzu.

"You're terrible! Matsuri is rubbing off on you." Yuzu paused when she realized the opportunity for a pun. She smirked and said, "Oh wait. That's cus she rubs one out for you."

"Oh, shut up."

* * *

The air was crisp and sweet. The leaves had changed colors, the treescape a swath of red, orange, and yellow. As dry leaves crunched underneath her feet, Yuzu decided she was in love with  _fall._

Before she moved to the Midwest, she had seen plenty of movies that featured the autumn season in all its glory. There were characters in cozy sweaters and scarves, walking in Central Park against a backdrop of colorful fall foliage. The man and woman would fall in love as they walked their dogs and sipped their warm drinks, scarlet and gold leaves falling gently around them. Movies like  _When Harry Met Sally, You've Got Mail, Autumn in New York._

Fall seemed like a super romantic time to fall in love.

"Yuzu, do you want to try their pumpkin pie? They're pretty famous for it." Mei touched her elbow gently. They were walking around with several of their sorority sisters in Farmer John's Pumpkin Patch and Cider Mill.

Yuzu turned towards Mei. The girl was wearing a dark grey wool jacket and a tan-colored plaid scarf in a slip knot around her neck. The late afternoon sun lit up her pretty eyes and cast a soft golden glow over her pale skin, her long bangs fanning over her cheeks. There was a shy, hesitant smile on her face, as if she was  _eager_ for Yuzu to taste and enjoy this slice of pumpkin pie.

_Oh. Wow._

Yuzu felt a fluttering in her chest. She loved pumpkin-flavored things, and Mei must have remembered.

_She is the most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on._

"Yeah." Yuzu nodded with a wide smile. It was all she could manage to say at the moment.

_Why do I feel like my heart is gonna fly out of my body?_

Their group made their way to the "Pie Palace," an enormous red barn converted into a pastry shop. As the girls stood in front of the chalkboard that listed all the available pies (pumpkin, apple, cherry, blueberry, pecan, walnut, Boston cream). When they got to the counter and Yuzu handed over her American Express card, Yuzu was told that the Pie Palace was  _cash only._ And the whole of Farmer John's Pumpkin Patch and Cider Mill, apparently. She started to say that she didn't have any cash on her, but Mei handed the clerk a $20 bill before she could even ask.

"Oh man, thanks for spotting me Mei. I'll pay you back when we get home, okay? Remind me if I forget."

Mei waved her hand dismissively before she sat down at a picnic table with both of their plates. "Don't worry about it. My treat."

Yuzu grinned and slipped into the bench beside her. Mei watched her intently as she stabbed her pie with a fork and brought the piece to her mouth.

Yuzu swallowed and licked her lips. "Oh my god. This is delicious."

A smile tugged on one side of her Mei's mouth. The brunette tucked a lock of raven hair behind her ear before she ate her own slice.

_There's that smile again. My heart is doing that thing…_

They chatted about the harvest-themed décor of the place as they ate: garlands of fall leaves, wreaths with decorative gourds, hay bales, and cornstalks. Before the rest of the girls joined them at their table, Mei asked her if she wanted to try the apple crumble. She nodded, and before she could reach for Mei's plate, the dark-haired girl was holding up a fork a few inches from her mouth.

The color that appeared on both their cheeks was identical to the barn after Mei fed Yuzu a piece of pie.

* * *

Mei's thoughts jumped to the work she needed to do for her capstone project, waiting at her desk. All Business majors in the Honors College had to take a 1-credit pre-req course for the Capstone course that all graduating seniors had to take in the spring semester. The course wasn't too hard, but she needed to put in several hours of research if she wanted to turn in a good project proposal. And of course, she wanted to turn in the  _best_ capstone proposal that the Fisher College of Business would receive from this year's graduating class.

Surprisingly, these concerns only crossed her mind once since she arrived at the pumpkin patch with her sisters. Normally, she would be consumed with guilt and anxiety if she was doing things that took away from her schoolwork.

But it was the perfect fall day: sunny, the air crisp and cool, the leaves in peak color. And Mei knew this was the last opportunity to come to the "Autumn Jamboree!" that was advertised for this pumpkin patch.

This place had all the stereotypical fall activities packaged in small-town Americana charm: an orchard for apple-picking, a pumpkin patch, a corn maze, a hay ride, a s'mores pit, a haunted house, and a petting zoo.

She knew that Yuzu would  _love_  this place. And she really wanted to see Yuzu's face light up when she laid her eyes on a field of pumpkins. She wanted to watch Yuzu inspect the rows of bright orange orbs and pick out the one she liked.

Mei wanted to see that more than needing to do her capstone project. It was a new feeling. She didn't want to analyze this strange compulsion too closely.

"Hey." Yuzu had snuck up behind her and was speaking next to her ear. "I got you something."

Yuzu held up a bright red apple in her line of sight. "It's a Fuji apple."

When they at the orchard earlier, they discovered that only the McIntosh, Gala, and Braeburn varieties were available to be picked. The other varieties were roped off from the public, a big "Do Not Pick" sign in front of the rows.

Mei had mentioned to Yuzu that Fuji was her favorite kind of apple. That was months ago.

"Did you disregard a posted sign to get this?" Mei asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep."

"Such a rule-breaker." Mei couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips as she took the fruit from her roommate. She didn't resist when Yuzu pulled out her phone and insisted they take a selfie with the apple.

"Gonna post this on Insta, okay? We look super cute."

Mei gave a little nod as permission. Their photo  _was_  super cute. Even with Yuzu poking her cheek with a peace sign. She always thought that particular pose was weird, but Yuzu managed to look freaking adorable.

She realized that this was their first photo together.

_Yeah, totally worth it to be here._

* * *

"Hey babe, should we find a secluded spot and make out?" Matsuri asked her as they entered the corn maze. It was fully dark now, but the silver moon and the clear night sky gave enough light to navigate the corn maze without the need of a flashlight.

"No." Harumi walked in front of her girlfriend. "Everyone's in here, there's no secluded spot. The girls don't want to see us sucking face, Matsuri."

"Awww, you're no fun," Matsuri said with disappointment in her voice. "I wanted to come here cus I thought it would be romantic and stuff."

Harumi turned around to look at the pink-haired girl, wanting to know if Matsuri was genuinely disappointed or just running her mouth.

Matsuri had a smirk and that determined expression on her face, the moonlight glinting off the pink ombre wash of her hair. She held a bag of kettle corn on one hand and a bowl of chili cheese fries on the other. Harumi herself was holding a cup of hot apple cider that Matsuri asked her to carry.

_Seriously, why do I even like this girl?_

_Her stomach is like a bottomless pit. She's double-fisting junk food after we just ate dinner. She has no filter. She acts all ratchet even though she grew up in a wealthy suburb in Massachusetts. She's totally living up the broke-ass college student aesthetic even though her family is as bougie as they come. She plays computer games all day. She's a sex fiend. She keeps bugging me to dress up as DVa from that video game._

"Well?" Matsuri came closer, peering up at her though long eyelashes, a hint of mischief curling her pretty lips.

The girl was something like a train wreck, but damn if she wasn't freaking gorgeous.

"Don't you want to be able to say that you made out with your girlfriend in a corn maze, under the moonlight, on a perfect fall night?" Matsuri drawled.

It seemed like Matsuri was done wheedling her, but then she added in a more quiet tone, "This might be our only chance."

Hearing the uncharacteristically sad tone in Matsuri's voice sent a twinge of pain in her chest.

Next fall, she wouldn't be here because she'll be doing a Study Abroad in Japan. While one could technically visit this place during the summer, when it was open for berry-picking and the farmer's market, they wouldn't be spending their summer break together. Right? Why would they? Matsuri would be back home in Massachusetts and she would be with her grandma in Indiana.

_Heck, we might not make it past winter break._

Because Harumi knew how these things went. College relationships as a rule were pretty short-lived, lasting for a few months at most. There were just so many available people in college, so many variables, so much pressure from schoolwork…it was clearly easier to just casually date a string of people. She's done that before, and Matsuri certainly had too.

Harumi knew. She did the math in her head and reviewed the anecdotal evidence.

_Our relationship is nearing its expiration date._

Harumi tried to ignore the tightness in her chest that was paining her.

She looped her arm over Matsuri's arm, the one that was clutching the bag of kettle corn. "C'mon. I looked at the map earlier and I found a spot that should have few people walking through."

Harumi led them deep into the corn maze, relying on her photographic memory to plot their path to the area she was thinking of. They walked silently; the only sound was the susurrus of the wind rustling through the tall cornstalks.

She was in front, which was why she caught sight of them first.

Standing in a little alcove off the main path, Mei and Yuzu had their arms wrapped around each other, kissing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Booksmart is the funniest movie I’ve seen so far in 2019. I highly recommend. Oh, and if it’s not obvious, it’s the peak of the autumn season where I live. The leaves have changed colors, it’s sweater weather, pumpkin everywhere, the whole nine yards. It’s my favorite time of year.
> 
> Hope y’all liked this update. I’ll be working on my other WIP, My Sister’s Alpha, next. The soonest I’ll get to update this will be in a month or so. By then it’ll be nearing (American) Thanksgiving IRL, and also in this story. I’ve got some interesting things cooked up for this story.
> 
> Here’s a fun pic of me writing the next chapter for Hey Mister:
> 
>  


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